Yet another bitchin' thread from SpeechCoach

[AZSpeechCoach]

Call me naive, call me stupid, whatever. . .when I bought my DirecTV system, they told me I needed phone jacks near all of the TVs, but they never asked if all of the places were cable ready. The previous owners of this house were big on computer networking, but not so big on television. The only cable outlet was in the living room, and it looked like a homebrew job. I presumed that all I needed were phone jacks (I went the wireless phone jack route), and the system would be installed. NOOOOOO. . .I needed $160 and three hours worth of refitting, including drilling holes in the walls, running cable through the attic crawl space, and feeding it through the jungle that makes up my backyard (even after my attempts at trimming it back this morning). "Free installation" my ass! At least the installer was a nice guy and the system is working damn well.

All I can say is that my apartment checkout tomorrow better be DAMN SKIPPY!

[Samdari]

I don't see where "Cable Ready" has anything to do with it. The cable that was used in the intital rollout of cable tv to most of the country is insufficient to carry the digital signals from the satellite to your receiver (presumably near your tv). If this place had been cable, the cable likely would have had to be replaced anyway.

You are not the first to complain about "free installation" not ending up free. The promise free "basic isnstallation" which includes only a bare minimum of service, and anything beyond that costs money.

[Franklinnoble]

Originally Posted by AZSpeechCoach

Call me naive, call me stupid, whatever. . .when I bought my DirecTV system, they told me I needed phone jacks near all of the TVs, but they never asked if all of the places were cable ready. The previous owners of this house were big on computer networking, but not so big on television. The only cable outlet was in the living room, and it looked like a homebrew job. I presumed that all I needed were phone jacks (I went the wireless phone jack route), and the system would be installed. NOOOOOO. . .I needed $160 and three hours worth of refitting, including drilling holes in the walls, running cable through the attic crawl space, and feeding it through the jungle that makes up my backyard (even after my attempts at trimming it back this morning). "Free installation" my ass! At least the installer was a nice guy and the system is working damn well.

All I can say is that my apartment checkout tomorrow better be DAMN SKIPPY!

Shoulda just done it yourself. It's not difficult, and it would have saved you enough cash for a trip to Tiffany's Cabaret, a few beers, and maybe a lap dance or two.

[Fonzie]

Bitchin'!

[gstelmack]

Where did you buy your DirecTV system? Who promised the free install? In most cases running cable from the dish to the receiver is part of the deal, assuming you bought the receiver(s) as part of this. If you called DirecTV and ordered one of their deals, I'd call them back and ask about this, as the installer may be ripping you off. If you bought from a local dealer, either you are being ripped off or they did a very poor job of communicating the charges to you.

Only thing I've ever paid extra for as part of a DirecTV install was my last HDTV upgrade, where they had to move the dish (not part of the deal) and add a phone line (not part of the deal). They ran lots of cable as part of the package I bought. When I moved into this house and did their super-cheap moving deal, the cable wiring in the house was pretty poor and the guy ended up having to run two lines to the two rooms. No charge, part of the install.

Three hours and hole drilling and all that is expected, but $160 to run the cable is not unless you had a particularly long run (something like 100 feet is allowed from dish to outlet, more than that and they need amps or other distribution means).

[AZSpeechCoach]

I bought it from Best Buy, and the installation charges were for the new cable drops. It does say in the paperwork that the free installation does not include drilling walls. I didn't realize how important this would be. I did call back the installation company today. It seems that the installer forgot to epoxy the hole in the wall. That is sorta important.