The deal sounded so good, William Mueller repeated it back to the sales representative on the phone.
For $59.99 a month, he would get Dish Network’s “Top 200” channel package, two DVR receivers and high-definition programming. After the first year, the cost for the package would increase to $79.99 a month, which would still be less expensive than what he was previously paying for cable.
“I said: ‘Let’s be clear what I want,'” Mueller said. “I reiterated — taxes, rentals, everything is included in the $59.99?”
The salesman agreed, so Mueller signed up for Dish Network service.
All seemed fine until the technician came out March 4. Instead of two DVRs, the installer had only one.
Mueller said he asked for a second DVR, but the technician said there was nothing he could do.
“I said just to remove it all and I would stay with my original provider,” Mueller said. “Of course, that got their attention.”
The installer put in a second DVR, and again, everything seemed fine.
Then Mueller received his first monthly bill.
Instead of the agreed-upon $59.99, Dish Network charged him almost $90.
“I called. They said: ‘It was because you ordered an upgraded receiver,'” Mueller said. “I said: ‘No, I did not.'”
I said: ‘Fine, just come and take your equipment back. I quit.'”
But the equipment stayed, and Mueller held out hope the April bill was an anomaly. It wasn’t. In May, another odd bill arrived, for $76.99.
Mueller’s wife called the couple’s credit card company and put a hold on the payment. In June, Mueller received a bill via email for $355.96. Hours later, Dish Network cut off his service.
Peeved, Mueller emailed What’s Your Problem?
“I have no satellite at all,” he said. “I’m so frustrated at this point that I’m not sure I want to stay with them.”
The Elmhurst resident said he simply wanted what he was originally promised.
“It would have been much simpler to keep the customer happy, but they just don’t seem to care,” he said.
The Problem Solver emailed details of Mueller’s situation to Dish Network spokeswoman Francie Bauer.
A short time later, a Dish representative called Mueller and straightened out his billing.
“It appears the credit (Mueller) was promised was not being generated to offset the monthly receiver cost when we added an additional receiver at the time of installation,” Bauer said in an email. “After our agent talked with the customer, he credited the extra charges over the past four months to get his account restarted.”
Mueller then paid $179.97 to get his account to zero, and Dish Network turned his service back on.
“I think he did everything he could to make me happy,” Mueller said after talking to the Dish Network representative. “So far, it’s OK.”
Mueller said he has been assured Dish Network will honor its original agreement.
“At this point, they’re living up to their end of the bargain,” he said.
In fact, Mueller agreed to pay a tad bit more. After seeing what the Top 200 package offered, Mueller upgraded to the “Top 250” package for $10 more per month.
“Frankly, even with the Top 250 package, there’s not much to watch,” he said. “There are a lot of infomercials.”
Mueller’s service was out for less than a week, but it wasn’t so bad.
“I almost thought I can live without it,” he said.
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