DISH Network Complaints
DISH Network provides a twenty-four hour online and (toll-free) telephone support service for its customers, and is regularly voted top for customer satisfaction amongst cable and satellite television providers. It does, however, get its fair share of complaints.
DISH Network have received a number of complaints from disgruntled customers about broken down or unreliable equipment and requesting replacements. There have been occasions where this equipment has been replaced, only to break down once more, and customers are shocked and infuriated to learn that it is company policy to replace broken customer equipment with refurbished versions of the same model.
So in effect, customers who signed up to DISH Network when the equipment being used was not fully working, are now stuck with these models. Customers can receive more reliable upgrades, but only if they fork out the extra charge.
DISH Network also claim that they are not liable for the removal of satellite dishes once a contract has ended. This can be quite problematic for the new owners of a home that has a satellite dish fixed to the exterior. DISH Network representatives have instructed people in this position to hire private companies to remove the dishes.
Other customers have complained that the free gifts which enticed them to sign up with DISH Network in the first place have never materialized. DISH Network excuse this on the grounds that the free gifts such as cameras, ice cream, plane tickets are distributed by outside agencies and they have no control over their distribution. This is a complaint that has been noted with a number of their offers, however, suggesting that they could be more scrupulous about the agencies they subcontract these offers to.
Another common complaint received by DISH Network is that there is a hidden charge to their free equipment that of shipping and handling. Given that the free equipment is promised as a reduction in inconvenience for those switching from cable television, this claim is perhaps particularly disingenuous.