-
Consumer Corner
DirecTV does not carry local Imperial Valley television, but DishNetwork does
Tattling on bad companies is one of my passions. In my many years as a news reporter and producer I helped recover thousands of dollars for folks who got slammed, spammed, scammed and otherwise screwed by businesses that were less than above board about their products and/or services.
One of my favorites is the old we’ll-fix-your-debt-problems-for-only-$250 scam. They don’t, won’t and they especially can’t since it’s illegal. But that’s a different story to tell on these pages somewhere down the road.
But the purpose of consumer news and comment is to help the consumer avoid getting jacked—legally or illegally.
Now, not all “bad” businesses I’ve dealt with personally and professionally are doing illegal things; but they are doing underhanded things, or they sort of try to cloak the real costs of things by offering “specials.” Those marketing guys and gals—they’re a hoot.
Take the dinky-dish satellite companies, for example.
Yesterday I tried to make good on my promise to Time-Warner cable that I am taking my business elsewhere because of a persistent lack of reception on one channel, which I’m basically paying eight bucks a month for because it’s lumped into a “tier” of other channels I don’t watch and I don’t want.
The Time-Warner rep in Denver—a somewhat bored, apathetic guy by the name of Justin—really peeved me when he said that unless a whole lot of customers complain about poor reception on one particular channel, then they really don’t bother addressing the problem. That remark was enough to make me start looking at the dinky-dish services.
And what a nightmare that was. I started my search for reliable, affordable television viewing at DirecTV’s website. Their website was slathered in “specials,” y’know the different attractive prices that have little eensie weensie print underneath with the real price? They were also giving away three months of some premium channels.
Not 15 seconds into my website visit a “chat” window popped up asking me if they could be of any “help.” So, I bit. (Note: There’s something really insidious about poring over a website and in the middle of the page pops up a “chat” window that addresses you as though they know what you’re doing and what you’re thinking.)
For 90 minutes I grilled the guy in the little chat window, bouncing back and forth from package page to premium prices to required equipment and yada yada– every aspect of purchasing a DirecTV package with a couple of premium channels. Problem is, without “chatting” with their rep, James, it would have been very difficult finding all the answers to my questions. In fact, most of my questions would not have been answered if I didn’t have the used-car-style sales guy “chatting” with me.
I could get 200 channels a month for 40 bucks and HBO and Starz for an additional $25. That’s not bad, I thought. That’s about $20 less than what Time-Warner is charging for even fewer channels. So, I was excited. I was making headway. The fact that the pricing would tick up another $20 in the second year of a required contract was bearable since Time-Warner would probably do the same thing a year from now.
The receivers would be another $10 a month. Okay, that’s fine. We’re still under the current Time-Warner bill. It’s when James tried to hard-sell me on sealing a deal then and there that I should have bailed. “You need to commit by tonight otherwise all that special pricing goes away,” he chatted. (If you take a look at their website, the “specials” are still there and purportedly good through September, and even now they’re offering five months of four premium channels, not just three months and three channels.)
I also found it very attractive that there were no set-up or installation fees at DirecTV. In my mind’s eye I could see James’ fingers tap-tap-tapping while he prayed for a sale with me. And finally at about 90 minutes into our chat I said, “Okay… let’s do it.” I could hear the sigh of relief 200 miles away in Los Angeles where James sat, “chatting” with me.
And then the bomb dropped during the sign-up process.
The one question—the ONE question—I never asked in that grueling 90 minutes was, “Gee, does DirecTV have local channels?” A person just assumes the most likely TV programming that would be available through any service would be local affiliate television. That’s not the case, especially with DirecTV. Their satellite doesn’t pick up Imperial Valley/Yuma Valley television stations.
So, when I learned that, I “chatted” with James about how you go about getting local programming with DirecTV. Oh, well, James chatted, “For each receiver there’s a one-time $50 charge plus a $200 installation fee on special equipment.”
BONG! You’re gone, James! My house needs three receivers, which would be a $150 fee. Add that to the “special equipment,” and I’d be out $350 just to put an ugly little gray dish on top of my house so I can get the same stuff that the cable company offers and eventually pay the same price as the cable company charges.
James was less than polite as he ended our chat. No thank you. No goodbye. Just poof. As insidiously as the little chat box appeared, it disappeared
I am a seasoned consumer advocate. I know that you should read fine print and other hidden conditions and the like before you dive into a service agreement. But I didn’t. And it wasn’t until after James hung up on me that I noticed DirecTV’s conditions also require the consumer to receive emails from DirecTV. Now, that’s got to be some form of extortion. Had I read that little ditty before that 90-minute chat session I wouldn’t even have bothered with DirecTV. My email is sacred, and it’s also valuable to companies like DirecTV. I don’t give it away and I don’t expect to have to use it as leverage for some dubious service.
I checked with DishNetwork. Their pricing packages and hard-to-find conditions are not much different than DirecTV. But, Dish does indeed offer local Imperial Valley television—for a $5 monthly charge.
Back to square one with Time-Warner. Of course, I have yet to look into the possibilities of planting one of those mammoth, NASA-style satellite dishes in the backyard to get every channel imaginable on earth. But that might annoy the neighbors.
So, for now, I’m going to stay with Time-Warner cable, but not by choice. I’m just merely cornered as a consumer. But I did have a conversation with El Centro City Manager Ruben Duran about how you go about complaining to local jurisdictions about the cable monopoly not offering 100 percent service, a conversation that lends itself to a complete blog entry next time.
My word, as always: don’t get cornered as a consumer.
6 Responses so far
Add a Response
-
About the Blogger
Every minute of every day there is someone who gets snagged as a sucker. It happens to average people like waitresses, teachers, bank clerks, politicians, even doctors and lawyers. It’s even happened to me, and I am a seasoned watchdog of consumer rights and consumer knowledge.My name is Gina Germani. I am the owner and editor of ivnews.INFO. I am also a veteran newspaper and TV reporter of nearly 30 years. And I am an Imperial Valley native. As a reporter in many parts of the country, I saw some of the most awful, heartless scams against good, trusting, and often desperate people. Sometimes I was able to help them. Sometimes I couldn’t.
Sometimes the consumer can just get caught up in marketing and sales double-talk. Nothing illegal about that. But it’s unfair, and it’s not right when a business is trying to separate its customer from his or her money for less-than promised products, pricing or services.
I like telling consumer horror stories and nailing the bad guys. And I hope I’ll be able to do that on these pages. You’ll also be reading a lot about my groans and gripes about customer service. Waiting inordinate periods of time for any Imperial County physician is one of my greatest pet peeves these days. I bet that’s something you wouldn’t mind chiming in on.
The Consumer Corner is all about not getting cornered as a consumer.
I hope I can help.
Previous Posts
The Consumer Corner: Going green with credit: c’mon, it’s a come-on!
| Sat, 16 Jan 2010 3:55 PMFive credit cards weigh a little more than an ounce. Americans currently carry in their wallets more than 6,200 tons of non-recyclable PVC credit. (…)
The Consumer Corner: What’s worse than getting a tooth pulled? Waiting for the dentist to show
| Mon, 24 Aug 2009 7:50 AMI had a tooth in the farthest reaches of my jawbone that was loose and gushy just a couple weeks ago. From my lay-person perspective, I just figured it needed to be disinfected, drained—whatever—and then a root canal conducted on it.
The Consumer Corner: Beware the magazine subscription telemarketers
| Sun, 2 Aug 2009 3:13 PMTelemarketing scam artists know that old folks are polite and won’t have an easy time hanging up on them, so they use that to their slimy advantage.
The Consumer Corner: DirecTV does not carry local Imperial Valley television, but DishNetwork does
| Thu, 23 Jul 2009 6:27 PMBONG! You’re gone, James! My house needs three receivers, which would be a $150 fee. Add that to the “special equipment,” and I’d be out $350 just to put an ugly little gray dish on top of my house so I can get the same stuff that the cable company offers and eventually pay the same price as the cable company charges.
ivnews.INFO Blogs List
- Mon February 06 5:24 PMCurrently in IMPERIAL, CA:
68 °F and Sunny
- 2/6/2012:High: 72 F • Low: 47 F • Clouds giving way to some sun
- 2/7/2012:High: 65 F • Low: 46 F • Partial sunshine
- 2/7/2012:High: 65 F • Low: 46 F • Partial sunshine
- Breaking News
- « More than 40 children's and infants pain relief medications are recalled... Tylenol, Motrin and flavored versions of the medications should not be administered to children »
- « Imperial Valley College remains shut down hours after a bomb threat was issued... a bomb squad and several emergency agencies have cleared the school and are reportedly looking at two different rooms that might contain explosives »
- « El Centro city officials estimate damages to public, residential and commercial properties as of Friday, April 9 to be more than $20 million »
- « Calexico schools will remain closed the week of April 12 due to the Easter Sunday earthquake...city, county, state authorities still assessing damages... parents will be notified of school openings by automated phone service »
Advertising
Nice blog very interesting… you should really look into writing about Rogers & Rogers Toyota. I’m sure you would find a lot to write about. I know that these things are expected from a dealership but I find it very unfair. Some of us don’t really know how to read in between the fake smiles and the dirty game that they play. It could be ignorance, a language barrier, or too much trust… It’s our fault as consumers in a way for not researching and preparing for the great battle that comes with purchasing a car at this place… anyway, great blog and keep up the good work.
Why? What did Rogers and Rogers do? Nevermind… you don’t need to answer that. They’re a car dealership, for cryin’ out loud. I have a good idea what they might have done…
But Emma, if you’re willing to share, let me know.
I would agree that there is SOME fault to be placed on the consumer in the research and prep department. But most consumers don’t have enough moxie to counter or to question a smooth-talking sales person–in any industry. And that just is not their fault.
Thanks for posting this. My husband wondered if we could save some money by going with a satellite, thanks to the advertising by DIrect and DISH. I had not spent the time to figure out all the extras and now am glad I did not bother. I hate paying the outrageous fee for cable but… you’re right- we are a cornered, held-captive audience in this area. Ironically – the advertisement at the bottom of this page today is DISH haha
Glad to help, Lisa! Honestly… I think it’s a wash between all the programming services and their fees–cable or satellite. But, as the Internet continues to move into on-demand programming, we should all be watching how the cable and satellite people scramble to keep up. Ha! I just noticed the ad here.
I work on this project. I love how you think the rep was ‘praying’ for the sale. The commission on a sale is $2. More than anything you probably drove the rep blind by chatting with him for 90 mins about information that is clearly on the website, including the word “No Locals’ if locals are not available in your area, or if locals from another market or there, your inability to glance at the channel list and see where they came from.
I am blown away that you have a blog, especially being such a typical baby boomer tech retard. FYI the agent probably bounced on you so quickly because they were waiting to use the bathroom or go home, which they are restricted from doing as long as someone as dense as you are sitting there asking them questions which are all clearly laid out on the page. You also had to ask about the costs of equipment etc, so more than likely you refused to move off the packages page and actually build a quote and review it.
Its people like you, your age group that are single handedly ruining our economy by your inability to comprehensively read the terms of service, use technology to get a quote, or sucessfully manage groups of people into the 21st century. The sooner you are put out the pasture, the sooner we will have a major economic turnaround, as gen Y eats you alive and spits you out because of your refusal to learn and move forward in business.
We deal with a couple thousand people like you everyday, and I hope you enjoy your terrible existence, and live long enough in retirement to see us take the economy to the next level and send you out to a soilent green program.
Dear Direct TV Rep:
I think that I was pretty clear and pretty comprehensive in my research regarding the so-called “services” offered by all parties in the cable and satellite fields. If you’re not happy with the idea of a fully knowledgeable consumer who can share valuable information about comparison shopping with other consumers, then shame on you. If you don’t like the heat, then stay the hell out of the kitchen, kid. That’s just an ‘old fart’–in your eyes–talking common sense.
Your response here should be a clear indication to any consumer—from any generation—that you are an absolute boob who has no regard for the consumer. It’s also quite clear from your insensitive and nasty response that there’s every reason to question DirectTV’s sales and advertising tactics—even if it takes 90 minutes to do so at the expense of the consumer.
Let me ask you something, Direct TV Rep: why do you sales people always urge your targets to ask questions if you really don’t want to answer their questions?
Regards,
Gina