DIRECTV vs. DISH Network

I cancelled my Directv and went to Dish because, at the time, Dish had a lot better deals on HD. Dish is not customer friendly and their phone system is impossible to navigate. The service was not reliable at all. When Direct called with an offer to get me back, I jumped on it. About 1 1/2 months after cancelling Dish, I called to ask about my early termination fee. They told me that my account had a zero balance and that, since my equipment was returned satisfactorily, I could consider the account to be paid and closed. To my surprise, two months later an early termination fee of $424 showed up on my credit card statement. Dish has been terrible to work with. Directv has been fantastic… even when I was cancelling with them. Though the rates are now pretty similar, I would go with Directv even if it were $20 per month more.

I voluntarily cancelled my service in March before my contract was up, and was told that after they received payment for the early termination, I would get the box to send my equipment back, so I paid and sent it back. Received a bill for the shipping at the end of April, no problem. Then I get an email thanking me for the payment amount of the early termination fee again. Customer service denies that I ever made a payment, accused me of non payment, saying I had been “shut off” in December, which is impossible because I was still paying for/watching in February. I have proof that they were paid the first time.
This is a very common problem I’m told, and I will most likely have to close my bank account so that they can’t make any more unauthorized transactions.

I would highly recommend the DISH experience. They are very knowledgeable if you need to call them with a technical question, and very patient in walking you through what you need to do. They also appear to have very simple fixes for things that might go wrong. I fully support DISH.

I was not really thrilled with Dish Network. Trying to talk with somone through their customer service was horrible. They could never really understand what I was trying to say and I thought their prices were a little high. Overall I would not go back to them.

I was a long time Dish Network subscriber because for the longest time they were the only satellite provider in my area. The equipment is good but their pricing always seemed on the high side and the customer service was just plain bad. They often had billing over charges and I would have to call and fight to get them removed while someone reading from a script would always ask if someone else in the house ordered a show, I live alone.

If Dish is the only thing available they are better than nothing but I would go with Direct TV any day over Dish.

An okay alternative to cable but not really much special – the dish is a little reliable than cable IMO.

the bill is a little high..and they always have promotions for new customers,how about some for the ones who pay top dollar every month and continue to be a customer.

Any storm that is not even that major causes the service to go out…Then the channel that has great shows like “Breaking Bad” and many others was gone because this company could not work out another deal with them, even though Direct TV did…

We have been pretty happy with our service from Dish. We had direct TV in the past and their prices were getting higher and higher every year.

23 months into my contract, I upgrade my equipment for free, and sign a new 2 year prison sentence after receiving fabulous promotions through the mail . They offered free upgrade and a rate that was $10 a month less than I was currently paying. Now I get the bill and it is the same and it will cost me more after my 12 month promotion than I was paying previously. I am told that my quoted amount did not include tax and that their are additional fees associated with the CRAPPYHOPPER. It only supports 1 tv for free. There is a fee for each set. The hopper only has 3 tuners as opposed to 5 with Direct TV. They will not let me out of my contract and will not negotiate the monthly bill. I was told that the promotions are for new customers and that they would as soon stick it to anyone that they have in a current contract.