Can't believe what I'm doing (cancelling satellite)

[cougarfreak]

I've been a loyal DTV subscriber for quite some time. But my local cable company is offering me the following:

Home Phone
20 mb internet
HD Cable with 2 HD DVR's, and a digital hookup on a third tv

All for $105 a month, price guaranteed for a year. Currently, I pay $95 for Phone and Internet, and $79 for directv with HD on 2 tv's. I've kept Direct largely for the MLB Extra Innings package, but now the the MLB TV on the PS3, I can get the same thing for roughly $80 cheaper as well. The local cable is insight, has almost all the same channels, plus I get Fox Soccer Channel in the package. The only downside I see is I have to lose the MLB Network, and I'll miss that, but the price difference is too much for me to ignore. I have friends with Insight Cable, and they are very happy with it.

[sovereignstar v2]

What is it going to cost after a year?

[Honolulu_Blue]

How difficult was it for you to cancel DirecTV? We had a hard time, getting the hard sell from them call after call. It really turned me off on the company.

[cougarfreak]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar v2

What is it going to cost after a year?

They said it won't go up more than 10% of what I'm paying now. The package I'm getting full price is about $160.

[cougarfreak]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

How difficult was it for you to cancel DirecTV? We had a hard time, getting the hard sell from them call after call. It really turned me off on the company.

I haven't yet. I'll call them after the cable gets installed, and I make sure that goes smooth. I called last week to make sure I don't have any kind of contract with them, and I don't.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by cougarfreak

They said it won't go up more than 10% of what I'm paying now. The package I'm getting full price is about $160.

If it was Time Warner, not only would they bump it to $160, but they'd charge you an extra 10% on top of that for the inconvenience of them needing to alter the payment.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

How difficult was it for you to cancel DirecTV? We had a hard time, getting the hard sell from them call after call. It really turned me off on the company.

They continued to bill both me and a friend of mine after we tried to cancel. I had to send a handwritten letter to their home office because apparently they don't believe in email. If you look them up on the BBB you'll also find tons of billing disputes with them (at least last time I checked).

Biggest pain in the ass I've dealt with as far as TV/Internet companies go.

Comcast isn't the best, but their internet speeds aren't close to being matched by anything here and if you are the type of person that doesn't mind calling once a year to force them into giving you a good deal you can keep close to those introductory rates the entire time you're a subscriber.

I'll take 1 phone call per year over the 2 months of phone calls, writing a letter, then waiting for a written response to my appeal.

If Directv would package with someone offering decent internet speeds and weren't notoriously awful with billing I would love to have Sunday Ticket again.

[Pyser]

there are rumors today that the nfl ticket will come to apple tv and roku and such

if its true, a lot of people can get ready to cancel directv

[stevew]

That has to happen.

[cougarfreak]

I just canceled my auto billing online with DTV after reading your stories. We'll see what happens on the 21st when I call and cancel.

[ColtCrazy]

Last December, I switched from DirecTV to Insight because of a similar package deal (about $100 for cable, internet, and phone) saving me $50 a month.

I was back to DirectTV within a month (thanks to haggling with Verizon for a package deal with them)

Insight was a joke. The guy that sold me the package said that the NFL Red Zone channel was part of the deal. It wasn't. They installed the system incorrectly the first time and had to come back to fix it. Two days later, it goes out again and again they are back. Then there were some hidden installation fees, even though I was told there wouldn't be. Our first bill? Over $200.

Normally, I'm calm and rarely complain. I was livid. I got the bill reduced because of all the false information I was given to start, but I canceled my service after spending a couple of days working out a better package elsewhere.

Oddly enough, Insight came by while I was at work yesterday wanting to get me to switch. The babysitter said that Insight guy would come back some other day. Hope he does, it'll be a fun conversation.

[tyketime]

Originally Posted by cougarfreak

I just canceled my auto billing online with DTV after reading your stories. We'll see what happens on the 21st when I call and cancel.

That's exactly what I did as the first step towards transitioning from DTV to Fios.

[cougarfreak]

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

Last December, I switched from DirecTV to Insight because of a similar package deal (about $100 for cable, internet, and phone) saving me $50 a month.

I was back to DirectTV within a month (thanks to haggling with Verizon for a package deal with them)

Insight was a joke. The guy that sold me the package said that the NFL Red Zone channel was part of the deal. It wasn't. They installed the system incorrectly the first time and had to come back to fix it. Two days later, it goes out again and again they are back. Then there were some hidden installation fees, even though I was told there wouldn't be. Our first bill? Over $200.

Normally, I'm calm and rarely complain. I was livid. I got the bill reduced because of all the false information I was given to start, but I canceled my service after spending a couple of days working out a better package elsewhere.

Oddly enough, Insight came by while I was at work yesterday wanting to get me to switch. The babysitter said that Insight guy would come back some other day. Hope he does, it'll be a fun conversation.

Hopefully my experience is better. They've got a pretty good rep. around here.

[CU Tiger]

This is shitty to have to recommend, but the best way to get rid of DTV is tto go buy a prepaid visa carrd, call and switch auto bill to that prepaid card and then call and cancel.

They will still bill you for 90 days, and then only "refund" 85% as is their standard practice, but the payments will bounce on the prepaid card. (OH it goes without saying the prepaid card should be tapped out right aftre you transfer.

[SteveMax58]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

This is shitty to have to recommend, but the best way to get rid of DTV is tto go buy a prepaid visa carrd, call and switch auto bill to that prepaid card and then call and cancel.

They will still bill you for 90 days, and then only "refund" 85% as is their standard practice, but the payments will bounce on the prepaid card. (OH it goes without saying the prepaid card should be tapped out right aftre you transfer.

Yep...that was how I canceled AOL a while back. IDK if they are still a impossible to cancel from but I was trying to cancel dialup and literally could not get the damn rep to cancel it without me agreeing to some other paid package for the privilege of having an email address with them. So I just put that in & it of course bounced for multiple months. Funny...they just ignored the bill and I still have that email address available to use.

[Suburban Rhythm]

I always think of this was reading about switching cable/satellite providers-

About 6 years ago is when we switched from Comcast to Direct. Once DTV was installed, and working, called to cancel Comcast.

You could tell the rep was just reading from a sort of reverse FAQ sheet--if customer says X, rep asks Y.

He asks "Can I ask how much you are paying?"
Me "The initial 6 months is $X a month...plus I am getting $10 back a month for the first 10 months (the referral bonus)."
Rep "Well...you know that they are going to raise that price after 6 months?"
Me "Yes, but it's still going to be $X less than what I am paying Comcast right now"
Rep "Well...they can raise prices again you know?"
Me "Couldn't Comcast do the same...like they have in the past?"
Rep *silence*
Me *silence*
Rep "Guess you're right"

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by cougarfreak

Hopefully my experience is better. They've got a pretty good rep. around here.

I hope so, they just seemed so disorganized when we had them.

Although, next month I'll be package shopping again. Our year will be up with Verizon, and we are wanting to cancel the home phone and just go with a cell. AT&T looks like the best deal at the moment.

[markprior22]

We had Insight here for years and they were great. Comcast took over and I am still very happy. I do notice a difference in customer service with the huge company vs Insight which was much smaller. I just call Comcast at the end of every promotion, tell them what packages I want and we work out a deal. I don't pull out the "switch to satellite card" unless I have to but so far I've had great luck. I pay 121.00 for all the main channels, HBO, sports package (which includes MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA networks, Redzone, etc) and internet. They also have Extra Innings which I have subscribed to in the past. Don't care about Sunday ticket but that would be my only drawback as a sports fan.

Edit-Forgot to add...this includes 2 HD receivers, 1 DVR and 3 digital converters for our non HD TV's.

[RomaGoth]

Been thinking about canceling cable and getting DirectTV for several months now. I had Dish Network many, many years ago and thought they were decent enough, but I would rather give DTV a try at this point, and our cable company charges $50/month for 60 channels.

Is DTV worth switching over to? I don't feel like I am getting my money's worth from cable at this point.

[Peregrine]

I had a bit of trouble when I cancelled DirecTV to go to AT&T Uverse - they kept calling every few months and asking if I wanted to go back.

[JediKooter]

I just switched to DirecTV about a month ago. Free HD for life (as long as I have auto pay), got the second biggest channel package, 1 DVR and am paying 79 dollars for 2 years.

[cougarfreak]

Originally Posted by RomaGoth

Been thinking about canceling cable and getting DirectTV for several months now. I had Dish Network many, many years ago and thought they were decent enough, but I would rather give DTV a try at this point, and our cable company charges $50/month for 60 channels.

Is DTV worth switching over to? I don't feel like I am getting my money's worth from cable at this point.

I've been pretty happy with DTV, I just can't pass up the opportunity to save about $75 a month for basically the same thing.

[markprior22]

The initial offers by DTV and DISH always look pretty good. What scares me is that the prices are good for one year and you have to sign a two year deal. As I mentioned above, I can call Comcast and basically negotiate. Can you do this with the satellite companies or are their rates pretty much written in stone?

[cougarfreak]

Originally Posted by markprior22

The initial offers by DTV and DISH always look pretty good. What scares me is that the prices are good for one year and you have to sign a two year deal. As I mentioned above, I can call Comcast and basically negotiate. Can you do this with the satellite companies or are their rates pretty much written in stone?

They're pretty written in stone, from my experience.

[fantom1979]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

I had a bit of trouble when I cancelled DirecTV to go to AT&T Uverse - they kept calling every few months and asking if I wanted to go back.

Kind of reminds me of my current experience with Sirius. I have had Sirius since 2003. 13 months ago, I swapped out my 6 year old receiver with a newer model. Sirius doesn't have a way of doing this directly, so I had to cancel that receiver off my account and activate the new receiver. To this day, I still receive "We want you back" emails and phone calls. I never left... I just upgraded my receiver....

[Doug5984]

I switched away from D-TV about a year ago, I was gone for 4 - 6 months and was right back. When I canceled I had no problem at all, told them going with someone else, it was already done deal and it was a very quick and painless conversation. When I went to switch back they gave me a pretty sweet deal with all new equipment so it worked out pretty nice.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by Doug5984

I switched away from D-TV about a year ago, I was gone for 4 - 6 months and was right back. When I canceled I had no problem at all, told them going with someone else, it was already done deal and it was a very quick and painless conversation. When I went to switch back they gave me a pretty sweet deal with all new equipment so it worked out pretty nice.

I like hearing these stories. I have been on the fence with switching, but I am so hating cable that I am ready for a change. Anyone know if there are any good deals out there right now with DTV?

[fantom1979]

I had a DTV salesperson put a flyer in my hand at Sam's Club. He said we get some kind of deal for being a member. Not sure how much (if any) of a discount I get. I didn't research it at all since I had just signed up with Comcast less than a week prior. If you are a member of Sams/Costco/etc, it might be worth looking it up.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by fantom1979

I had a DTV salesperson put a flyer in my hand at Sam's Club. He said we get some kind of deal for being a member. Not sure how much (if any) of a discount I get. I didn't research it at all since I had just signed up with Comcast less than a week prior. If you are a member of Sams/Costco/etc, it might be worth looking it up.

Sam's Club went out of business in this area, but I could check out Costco I suppose.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by RomaGoth

I like hearing these stories. I have been on the fence with switching, but I am so hating cable that I am ready for a change. Anyone know if there are any good deals out there right now with DTV?

Well the stories of easy cancellations are reps who are not "doing there job" and will be replaced very soon. You should see the DTV script...its painful, and when we went their dealer(s) of the year extravaganza in 05 they bragged about their disconnect refusal and retention rate.

Your best deal will always be going through a dealer if you have a good one local. Like right now, I could probably put in 3 HD DVRs and 3 more standard HD rec. for $99 and get you promo rates plus first 3 free or first 3 $19 whatever. They wont give you that over the phone.

[cougarfreak]

Funny, now I'm getting cold feet. I'm thinking about just having the cable company moving my modem close enough to where I can hook up my PS3, and DTV Receiver up into the modem, and calling DTV and seeing if I can get free HBO for a year or something.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by fantom1979

Kind of reminds me of my current experience with Sirius. I have had Sirius since 2003. 13 months ago, I swapped out my 6 year old receiver with a newer model. Sirius doesn't have a way of doing this directly, so I had to cancel that receiver off my account and activate the new receiver. To this day, I still receive "We want you back" emails and phone calls. I never left... I just upgraded my receiver....

LOL, you should call and negotiate a better deal

[Toddzilla]

Originally Posted by fantom1979

Kind of reminds me of my current experience with Sirius. I have had Sirius since 2003. 13 months ago, I swapped out my 6 year old receiver with a newer model. Sirius doesn't have a way of doing this directly, so I had to cancel that receiver off my account and activate the new receiver. To this day, I still receive "We want you back" emails and phone calls. I never left... I just upgraded my receiver....

I had 4 XM subs, 2 in my cars and 2 Innos. I cancelled the Innos after not using then for a while and the "we want you back" calls started pouring in. I finally asked to talk to a manager and I told them if I got one more phone call I'd cancel the other 2 subs. Never got a call again.

[cougarfreak]

I went ahead and made the switch today. Cable's not bad, it just doesn't have MLB Network, and the equipment isn't good as DTV. The installer went through 5 bad HD DVR boxes (no kidding), before he found 2 that worked for me (so 7 total). I did get two that work fine. The upgrade to 20 MB internet came with a new wireless router that is indeed lightning fast, so I didn't have to hard wire my PS 3. DTV offered to knock me down some when I canceled, but of course couldn't get close to my bundle price.

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by cougarfreak

I went ahead and made the switch today. Cable's not bad, it just doesn't have MLB Network, and the equipment isn't good as DTV. The installer went through 5 bad HD DVR boxes (no kidding), before he found 2 that worked for me (so 7 total). I did get two that work fine. The upgrade to 20 MB internet came with a new wireless router that is indeed lightning fast, so I didn't have to hard wire my PS 3. DTV offered to knock me down some when I canceled, but of course couldn't get close to my bundle price.

If you care a lot about your DVR, you can get a tivo with cable. If you don't care, don't bother.

[nilodor]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

This is shitty to have to recommend, but the best way to get rid of DTV is tto go buy a prepaid visa carrd, call and switch auto bill to that prepaid card and then call and cancel.

They will still bill you for 90 days, and then only "refund" 85% as is their standard practice, but the payments will bounce on the prepaid card. (OH it goes without saying the prepaid card should be tapped out right aftre you transfer.

Or you can go to your bank and put a stop payment order on the account, that should keep them from drawing any more payments once you've canceled.

[Aylmar]

Originally Posted by Pyser

there are rumors today that the nfl ticket will come to apple tv and roku and such

if its true, a lot of people can get ready to cancel directv

It might be the NFL Rewind service for replaying full games (which would be cool), but I'd be shocked if this type of thing happened for actual live game broadcasts anytime soon. DTV has that exclusively wrapped up through 2014. There is a clause in the new agreement stating people who can't get DTV sat service can get Sunday Ticket via broadband, though. I wonder if that's the source of (or at least contributing to) those rumors.

[cougarfreak]

Originally Posted by cougarfreak

I went ahead and made the switch today. Cable's not bad, it just doesn't have MLB Network, and the equipment isn't good as DTV. The installer went through 5 bad HD DVR boxes (no kidding), before he found 2 that worked for me (so 7 total). I did get two that work fine. The upgrade to 20 MB internet came with a new wireless router that is indeed lightning fast, so I didn't have to hard wire my PS 3. DTV offered to knock me down some when I canceled, but of course couldn't get close to my bundle price.

Yeah, this guy here. He didn't know what he was talking about. This new cougarfreak has figured out cable sucks, and as soon as Direct calls me, I am switching back. I feel like I'm in the stone age. The only channels I can see are the HD ones, and the receiver doesn't go native resolution, so it sucks.

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by cougarfreak

Yeah, this guy here. He didn't know what he was talking about. This new cougarfreak has figured out cable sucks, and as soon as Direct calls me, I am switching back. I feel like I'm in the stone age. The only channels I can see are the HD ones, and the receiver doesn't go native resolution, so it sucks.

Why in the world would you want to see channels that are not HD?

Make not to never come to my house to watch TV!

[DaddyTorgo]

Seriously...the only channels I don't watch in HD are the ones that (irritatingly enough) Verizon doesn't give me in HD. Which are namely BBC America and FoxSoccer (FUCK YOU VERY MUCH VERIZON YOU BUNCH OF D-BAGS!!!). Everything else...I wouldn't even venture down into that realm of numbers ever.

[cougarfreak]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Seriously...the only channels I don't watch in HD are the ones that (irritatingly enough) Verizon doesn't give me in HD. Which are namely BBC America and FoxSoccer (FUCK YOU VERY MUCH VERIZON YOU BUNCH OF D-BAGS!!!). Everything else...I wouldn't even venture down into that realm of numbers ever.

I don't either. But some channels on cable don't come in HD (like Foxsoccer), and I can't even watch it, the picture is so bad.