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Exactly - I wish they would be forced to issue a written contract with prices, including taxes before a contract would be considered valid. But as JC Penney's "one price/no sale" experience has indicated - American consumers have been trained not to buy anything unless "it's a deal".
I too dislike how everything with TV services has so much to do with haggling and getting special deals.
But I disagree that such a thing is necessary for business success in America - Walmart doesn't typically have sales - they have "everyday low prices" - and they are the most successful retailer. There is also Carmax, the largest used car dealer chain, which does very well with the "no haggle" pricing.
DirecTV On Demand actually downloads (streams) the program, so yes, you have to have a DVR. I left DirecTV for U-Verse about 2.5 years ago, and the picture quality was awful with U-Verse. DirecTV is far better. Not only that, my bill with U-Verse slowly crept up, and I decided to play the "I'm leaving game", at which point AT&T basically said "see ya".
I have been back with DirecTV for 6 months now, and couldn't be happier with my service and price. I only lose signal during the most severe thunderstorms, when they're coming from a certain direction. Also, keep in mind that I was not technically a new customer since they only allow certain deals for new customers who have never had DirecTV service.
1 HD Home Media Center DVR, 1 HD receiver (no upfront cost whatsoever)
Choice Xtra package (210 channels, approx 70 in HD)
All movie channels free for first 3 months
$55.10 total per month for the first 12 months, $86.?? for months 13-24 of my contract
The quality of service with DirecTV was fine. And I would have had no problem paying a reasonable fee for On Demand (assuming it still ended up being cheaper than Charter). I just couldn't seem to get a straight answer from anyone. I actually was open to keeping the service this morning when I called if they could have given me some definitive answers and prices. However, this all changed when I was told there was no record of the previous agreement extending my cancellation "grace period." If they can't keep track of this, it's difficult to trust anything else that's been said regarding my contract, service and eventual price increases. All that was really set in stone seemed to be that I was committed to DirecTV for two years.
I really am curious how you got charged for HD. I know I got charged for the HD receivers, but not the channels.
I have had such a horrible experience with charter in the past, that I will NEVER go back to them. I went without cable for 2 years because I didn't want to deal with them.
The way it was explained to me was that I'd have to pay $8/month for the DVR service and then an additional $10/month for HD. I don't know what that $10 actually covered, but the service/equipment was required (although the fee could be waived). It may have been for the receiver. If so, I guess I would have been paying $8 for the DVR service, $10 for the HD receiver (which was part of the DVR apparently), and then potentially $199 as a base cost for the DVR.
The way it was explained to me was that I'd have to pay $8/month for the DVR service and then an additional $10/month for HD. I don't know what that $10 actually covered, but the service/equipment was required (although the fee could be waived). It may have been for the receiver. If so, I guess I would have been paying $8 for the DVR service, $10 for the HD receiver (which was part of the DVR apparently), and then potentially $199 as a base cost for the DVR.
you need to reaseach deals online, or get one service then wait for them to call you every week and send you letters, they are constantly offering me a million services I don't want because I only have internet.
I did some research and thought I was getting everything that's offered in the Entertainment Package. From what's discussed on the website, it appears that everything you'd need for On Demand is included in the advertised price. There's a reference to "advanced receiver service" being required for HD, but it also says HD is included. It's hard to translate.
I guess it's possible that I made a mistake when ordering, but considering the deal that's offered online, I would have thought DirecTV would have been willing to just replace the standard box with the HD DVR. I was told that might happen eventually if my "escalation" was successful, but I was also told I could end up paying for the DVR, the DVR service, and also the HD service. After five days, no one could tell me what my plan was actually going to cost.
With all the fees these services add after the advertised price it is impossible to know what your bill will be until you get the first bill in the mail. By then it is too late to cancel without paying a fee.
I'm not a big fan of a million laws but there really needs to be a federal law that for any service they must be able to tell you the amount of your bill for the services you sign up for when you sign up and before cancellation fees apply. Cell service has $10-$20 in "fees". The cable companies, phone companies, and satellite companies all add on "fees" in addition to the advertised price.
The phone company at my previous address sent me a bill for a lightly different amount each month even though we were on services that had a flat rate for unlimited service. The amount it varied was only a few pennies but it drove me nuts that it wasn't the same every month.
Having just signed up for DirecTV, they originally sent me a list of what all my services would cost, and what discounts I would receive for how long. It was called something like "Estimate of First Bill" with an asterisk noting that it did not include taxes. Pretty straightforward.
But then, the day after installation, I noticed they charged my credit card for the amount without any of the stated discounts. I emailed them to complain, and they said that the discounts were "rebates" that I had to apply for online and would receive in 6-8 weeks.
I don't really care about having to wait to get the discount, but a) you shouldn't call it an "Estimate of First Bill" when there is no possible way to have the rebates processed by the first bill, and b) why in the world does it take 6-8 weeks for them to process a rebate they agreed to before installation?
I'm not a big fan of a million laws but there really needs to be a federal law that for any service they must be able to tell you the amount of your bill for the services you sign up for when you sign up and before cancellation fees apply. Cell service has $10-$20 in "fees". The cable companies, phone companies, and satellite companies all add on "fees" in addition to the advertised price.
Definitely. In spite of their protests that it's 'too hard' or 'too complicated' - I always note to the salesperson that they manage to process millions of bills each month, with fees and a bottom line price. Why can't they allow the salesperson access to the exact bill?
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