Take the time to read the following chat transcript between myself(Kamran Khan) and dish network representative(Enrique A). Basically - this transcript is a clear proof of how dish network gets unreasonable and enforces charges on you without any shame!

Taking the time to read this transcript will prepare you to deal with this con company. THEY ARE BAD!! AND ABSOLUTELY WITHOUT ANY CONSCIENCE - THEY JUST WANT TO STEAL YOUR MONEY - BEWARE!
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Please wait while we find a representative to assist you...
You have been connected to (03) Enrique A.
(03) Enrique A: Thank you for choosing Dish Network the leader in HD and DVR. I will be happy to assist you today. Please give me 2-3 minutes to access your account and review the information you have already provided.
Kamran Khan: ok
(03) Enrique A: Thank you!
(03) Enrique A: Thank you for your patience.
(03) Enrique A: I am glad to hear that you want to restart your service.
Kamran Khan: did you get the box that I sent via ups?
Kamran Khan: I mean the reciever that was not working?
(03) Enrique A: Let me check with that.
Kamran Khan: ok
(03) Enrique A: Please give me 2-3 minutes to research this.
Kamran Khan: ok
(03) Enrique A: Thank you for your time.
(03) Enrique A: Yes, we go the receivers.
Kamran Khan: good!
Kamran Khan: now I have another problem enrique - and I would like you to help me with that
(03) Enrique A: However, without the equipment the services cannot be restarted.
(03) Enrique A: I will try my best to help you, may I know the exact problem?
Kamran Khan: good
Kamran Khan: the problem is that I am being billed for all the wrong things
Kamran Khan: I have been a dish network customer for a long time
Kamran Khan: and a couple of months back I went on vacation
(03) Enrique A: The charge for the equipment for $200.00 will be reversed.
Kamran Khan: I asked for my service to be decreased
Kamran Khan: and they did that
Kamran Khan: after I got back I got this long bill which not only has this charge that you mentioned will be reversed but other incorrect charges also
(03) Enrique A: Well, all the other charges are valid I have already checked your billing.
Kamran Khan: what are those? if I may ask you..
(03) Enrique A: You have been charged Equipment fee twice for $200.00.
Kamran Khan: why?
(03) Enrique A: The equipment fee would be reversed that would be of $400.00 with the state and local taxes.
Kamran Khan: see? that's the sort of stuff I am talking about..
Kamran Khan: there are incorrect charges..
Kamran Khan: what else?
Kamran Khan: I mean - what else you see there?
(03) Enrique A: There are no other invalid charges apart from what I mentioned above.
Kamran Khan: ok - in that case - will you be starting my service?
(03) Enrique A: Well, there is no equipment with you to restart the service.
Kamran Khan: see? that's where the confusion is
Kamran Khan: can I explain?
(03) Enrique A: Sure.
Kamran Khan: I do have the equipment - and this equipment was a replacement sent to me for faulty equipment that I returned and I was told that I will not be charged for the replacement since the equipment that I returned was faulty
Kamran Khan: so - basically I do have the equipment...
(03) Enrique A: May I know the R00 number of the receiver?
Kamran Khan: I dont have it right now with me since I am in the office
Kamran Khan: but I assure you that I do have the equipment which was sent as replacement from you and it is working fine...
(03) Enrique A: In that case I would request you to please contact us back once you get back home to help you further.
Kamran Khan: ok I can do that - now beside this equipment issue - what else? what else is the problem before my service can be started?
(03) Enrique A: That is it!
Kamran Khan: so I dont owe you guys anything - right? I mean beside resolving this equipment issue
(03) Enrique A: We will be able to help you with the exact price once you help us with the R00 number of the receiver.
Kamran Khan: what price? see? I am confused again - The reciever I have was sent as a replacement
(03) Enrique A: The receiver that was sent to you was an upgraded receiver, it was not shipped to you as the replacement for the faulty equipment.
(03) Enrique A: That is the reason you have a current balance on the account.
Kamran Khan: I never asked for any upgraded reciever - I just wanted the reciever to work
(03) Enrique A: I see that you participated in the Dishn't up promotion to get the HD Single tuner receiver.
Kamran Khan: that's all and I think it will be highly unfair to charge me for a reciever that was sent to me as replacement
(03) Enrique A: I am sorry you feel that way.
Kamran Khan: its not a matter of feeling this way enrique - I was sent faulty recievers initially and all you guys did was replaced it with a good one - which is what you should have done - and I am being charged for that?? I mean - why???
Kamran Khan: do you understand what I am saying??
(03) Enrique A: When we sent the receiver as replacement you would have sent the faulty equipment back to us.
Kamran Khan: dish network is incorrectly charging me - this is unfair - they simply replaced their faulty equipment
Kamran Khan: the faulty equipment was sent back
Kamran Khan: you just told me that you got them
Kamran Khan: so what's the confusion??
(03) Enrique A: Now, let me make this clear.
Kamran Khan: ok
Kamran Khan: are you still there?
(03) Enrique A: Initially, you were charged for two non return equipments worth for $400.00. We will reverse the charge for one equipment that we received for $200.00.
Kamran Khan: look - let me clarify - both the equipments that I sent were faulty - both of them - ok
Kamran Khan: and I sent them back
(03) Enrique A: We have received only one equipment.
Kamran Khan: man!
Kamran Khan: I just asked you if you got them both and you said yes
Kamran Khan: the second one was shipped out last week
Kamran Khan: you should have recieved it by now
(03) Enrique A: We did not receive the second receiver.
Kamran Khan: that is what I asked you first and you said yes
(03) Enrique A: You were referring to only one receiver I double checked the conversation. That is the reason I said yes.
(03) Enrique A: If you have really sent the other receiver also the other $200.00 charge will also be reversed once we get the receiver back.
(03) Enrique A: Do not worry about that. You can contact us later to check if the receiver is with us to restart the account.
(03) Enrique A: Do you have anymore questions for me?
Kamran Khan: beside the two recievers what other charges are there??
(03) Enrique A: You would need to pay approximately $150.00 to restart the account which was billed when your account was on pause.
Kamran Khan: why?
Kamran Khan: that's what I am trying to find out
Kamran Khan: why $150??
(03) Enrique A: We did not receive the payment for the bill that was generated when the services were on hold.
Kamran Khan: I paused the account to lower my monthly bill not to have it increased
Kamran Khan: the whole idea of lowering my service was to save money - not to have it increased
Kamran Khan: I dont understand>>>
(03) Enrique A: That was billed for your programming.
Kamran Khan: which programming - there was no programming during the two months
Kamran Khan: it was all on hold
Kamran Khan: ?
(03) Enrique A: Your monthly rate was for $18.33 when your services were on hold.
(03) Enrique A: If you wish you can also contact us at 1-800-333-3474 to know more information.
Kamran Khan: if my monthly rate was $18.33 then where does $150 come from?
Kamran Khan: that you just mentioned to me??
Kamran Khan: help me out here Enrique - you know that there's something wrong here
(03) Enrique A: If there are any wrong charges I would have reversed it.
Kamran Khan: and its unfair for me - since I have been your customer for a long time and I pay promptly each month - this is wrong my friend - this whole billing is wrong
(03) Enrique A: All the charges which are on your account are valid.
Kamran Khan: what are you talking about??
Currently experiencing network delays, one moment please...
Currently experiencing network delays, one moment please...
Currently experiencing network delays, one moment please...
Kamran Khan: you told me right now that I owe $150
Network connection re-established.
Kamran Khan: right??
Kamran Khan: are you there?
(03) Enrique A: Yes, I am here.
Kamran Khan: ok tell me one thing
Kamran Khan: how do you justify the $150 charge?
Kamran Khan: how??
Kamran Khan: for two months $150 - how do you justify that
(03) Enrique A: The minimum payment that shows on the account to restart your service is $579.14.
(03) Enrique A: However, you sent us both the receiver and after receiving the second receiver we will reverse the $400+ taxes. In this way I gave you the approximate amount to restart the service.
Kamran Khan: first of all I never stopped my service - I am still getting it
(03) Enrique A: The account is disconnected.
Kamran Khan: secondly you are not answering my questions correctly
(03) Enrique A: I am sorry you feel that way.
Kamran Khan: you give me figures and then you do not support them at all with anything
Kamran Khan: I mean - why cant you give me breakdown of that $150 for two months??
Kamran Khan: I never stopped my service with you
Kamran Khan: I lowered it - and you said yourself that it was $18 for each month
Kamran Khan: so where do you get $150 from??
(03) Enrique A: The account was disconnected due to non payment.
Kamran Khan: what non payment??
(03) Enrique A: Did I tell you that is the final amount to pay?
Kamran Khan: I am trying to get answers from you but you are jumping around and throwing figures at me
(03) Enrique A: The minimum payment that shows on the account to restart your service is $579.14.
Kamran Khan: why are you not talking straight with me - is this how you guys get trained??
(03) Enrique A: However, you sent us both the receiver and after receiving the second receiver we will reverse the $400+ taxes. In this way I gave you the approximate amount to restart the service.
Kamran Khan: service is already there!!!
Kamran Khan: why cant you understand??
Kamran Khan: I do have the service right now
Kamran Khan: its $18.80 that you mentioned
(03) Enrique A: The account which I am looking at is disconnected.
Kamran Khan: it was never disconnected
(03) Enrique A: Your services are not active.
Kamran Khan: that's wrong information you are getting about my account
Kamran Khan: that's what I am trying to tell you
Kamran Khan: somebody messed up and your computer is showing me disconnected
Kamran Khan: its not disconnected
Kamran Khan: I have the service
Kamran Khan: I never disconnected
Kamran Khan: that is exactly what I am trying to tell you
(03) Enrique A: In that case I would request you to please contact us at 1-800-333-3474 and speak with the account specialist as we have limitation over the chat.

Beware! Dish Network is hazardous to your credit! We had Dish for several years and received very bad customer service. The final blow came after we ended our contract. We moved to a new city and decided to switch to a cable service. We sent back our equipment and paid our final bill and informed Dish of our new address in case there was anything else. Dish credited our account after receiving the equipment, but apparently over credited us by $50. They claim they sent out several notices asking for re-payment, but we never saw them. We would have been happy to re-pay the $50 right away, but we weren't aware of the situation. The only bill we got was from a collection agency many months later, which we paid immediately. Now we have a black mark on our credit because of a mistake Dish has since admitted to making.

We have been customers of Dish Network for approximately 3 years and until this past Friday, have been satisifed with Dish Network although package options have definite room for improvement. Dish Network is also pleased with us being a very good customer.

Our problem began when I contacted Dish Network to submit a move transfer to our new address. First, move transfers have to be submitted within 30 days of relocation. I submitted our transfer request and was informed that our new location did not qualify for local networks. My husband and I were not happy with this bit of news but after researching we decided we would be able to add a separate outdoor antennae for the local channels. Our transfer to new address was scheduled for August 28, 27 days from date of transfer request. Upon arriving home later on Friday, August 1, we discovered we had no local channels. I contacted Dish Network support and I was surprised when the automated system identified our home phone number to the new street address located in another area with a difference area code. At the prompt, I stated "No" for "Is this the correct phone number?" and was put on hold for next available technician. After explaining problem, the tech put me on hold where I remained for approximately 5 minutes. The tech confirmed with the supervisor the most absurd explanation I have ever heard. Because we had submitted our transfer request to our new location that does NOT have local channel service, which once again, the transfer does not take place for another 27 days, Dish Network canceled our existing local channel service at our current address. They could provide no logical explanation other than the new address for the upcoming transfer is keyed into the system and the system then recognizes there is no local channel service at the new address and in turn turns off the feature, meaning we can not receive local channel service at our current address. In order to reactivate local channel service at our existing address we would have to cancel our transfer request. The huge downside to this option is we would have to wait until the actual move to schedule the transfer and then be at THEIR mercy to available days for installation at the new address. We wanted to schedule ahead to insure we could have the work completed just prior to our big move day, the one day we would be able to be there. We have planned to take 2 days for a five-day long holiday weekend to get everything done (phones, DSL, water/gas/electric/and cable.)

We are really pissed about this and made it very clear to Dish Network that if we call back to reschedule the transfer and we can not get OUR preferred installation then they will be losing another GOOD customer.

For 12 years we were with DirecTV. Our DirecTV install was originally performed by myself with equipment we purchased. Under the current pricing scheme, we were offered what appeared to be a much better price through bundling our AT&T service with DISH Network. So we went ahead and bundled our services, and then our problem begins.

On the day of the install, the DISH Network installers arrived about 3:15-3:30pm. They performed a site survey, and asked what rooms in our house was to get what service. We originally ordered DVR service for the living room and 1 bedroom along with standard service for 2 other bedrooms.

The technicians seemed so confused about the way things should be setup and wired that I finally asked them if it would be easier to just add DVR service to all 4 rooms. They said yes, so I called customer service to have our order changed. The lady at customer service was asked if there would be any additional charges for the change, and she stated that there would be a $5.99 charge each month added to the bill for the DVR service in the 2 rooms that would have been just standard programming under the original order.

I felt that the cost was reasonable, and she proceeded to remind me that the equipment would all be under the same original 24 month lease agreement. She asked me to ask the technician if he had a spare DVR box with him, and he said yes. So, up to this point I am feeling pretty great with their service.

Let me also add that I informed them during both calls that we currently had all standard TV sets in the house, but we were buying 2 new LCD TV sets in the near future. So the installers proceed to the install of 4 rooms of DISH DVR service, and I am feeling great. Now comes the first blow... the inform me that the cabling in our house is sub-par for their boxes and the proceed to rip out the old staff and put in new wiring.

Funny, DirecTV ran on the same wiring for 12 years and lost signal maybe 1 time per year due to flood conditions or heavy snow. But fine... go ahead and waste your company's money if you want to, because it doesn't cost me extra. About 45 minutes into the actual work of the install, two more guys show up to help. The installer that seemed to be the lead on the job tells the other guys what wires to run where, and what connections to hookup to each splitter. He proceeds to go then to start setting up the wiring and boxes inside. Meanwhile his partner is mounting the dish on the pole and aligning it, and the other 2 are doing the cables outside.

After the cables are installed, the two are told they can go ahead and go back to their hotel because the job should be about done. At this point the one on the ladder has the dish installed and says he has a good signal of about 70. I tried to tell him that 70 would not be sufficient strength, but he disagreed and said that 70 on his meter was well above 100 on the boxes (a totally ignorant lie or mistake... but he did seem to be new to the job). He proceeds into living room to hookup the second box.

Now we finally have both boxes installed, but from the first power-on neither one could find a satellite. So there is about 2 hours spent booting and rebooting, setting and resetting... but no satellite. So the dish man goes out to check his work while the box installer checks over all the inside wiring again. The dish man says he has tweaked the dish pointing and got the strength to over 100 on his meter. Once again, the boxes can't find the satellite. So the lead guy goes out and checks the dish and the wiring. During the check he finds that the wiring outside, that was supposedly double-checked, was actually reverse of what it should have been at the splitters.

Ok, problem solved, satellite found (but the signal was only 66-70). Next they spent a little time setting the boxes up and then it was time for the paperwork. 'Oops, someone left the paperwork outside in the rain, we will have to come back tomorrow!' At this point, it is more than 8 hrs since these guys showed up, my house is in total disarray and I am really tired. Ok, so we will see ya tomorrow.

The next morning I get a call from the lead tech and he brings some paperwork by (it looks like the same paperwork from the night before that had been dried out). I sign it, and he loads up the ladder that they forgot the night before. He also asks me if I would like him to take the old dish, the boxes and the old wiring back for recycling. Seems like a nice gesture, and I wasn't going to need the stuff anymore...so sure take it. So far, other than the extremely long and frustrating install and the mess they made of my floors with their boots, I a happy.

A couple weeks go by, and at each rain shower we lose signal. I log into my AT&T account to get the number to call for assistance, and I notice that the bill has arrived. Wow! why is my bill so high? I start going over the bill and see the charge for the programming (prorated, plus the next month in advance), and I also see a $99 service fee that doesn't look right.

I call AT&T and find out that it is an equipment upgrade fee for the 2nd DVR box (the one I was told only would cost $5.99/mo extra). 'I wasn't told about any additional fee, that's fraudulent billing, take it all out' was what AT&T heard next. Well the customer service lady at AT&T talked me into keeping it, if they paid half the cost (even though I was still skeptical and not quite sure about the move I made).

So she gets me over to tech support to get the signal problem and a frequency issue resolved with my remotes. DISH support doesn't even tell me how to set the remote frequency, they just schedule an appointment for a tech to come out and say he will fix it all when he comes in about a week. That brings us up to yesterday.

I get a call about 10am and it is the tech. He tells me that he is running a little early, and he asks if it is ok to come early. I was happy with that, and I told him to go ahead and come fix the issues. Evidentially this 'kid' is a contractor, because he shows up in a Jeep Cherokee with a 20ft ladder strapped to the rood using bunjie cords.

I show him the dish (which is mounted to a mast that extends above the roof), and he proceeds to try and stand in one of our lawn chairs to adjust the dish. I tried to tell him he was too short to reach it, but he had to find out himself (kids). So when he couldn't reach it he goes to remove the 18 bunjie cords from the ladder on his jeep.

I told him we had a ladder that he could use instead under the deck he was standing on, so he proceeded to get our ladder out (I am disabled and have bone and joint issues that limit my arm movement and causes lots of problems in my feet so he had to do the lifting). He climbs up on the ladder stating he thinks it is a bad LNB.

He removes the dual LNB from our dish and just sticks a single one in its place, doesn't put a screw in it, and just lets it sit there. He hooks up his test meter and says 'Oh yeah, I have great signal there, it's your LNB'. (mind you, he put no screws in it, so the single moved everytime he touched the cable or moved his meter).

He then puts a new double LNB in place and we proceed inside to the televisions. Inside the signal is now a little lower than it was before and on a partly cloudy day the signal drops to 50 as a single cloud drifts by. Last night we had a really small shower and just like before 'AQUIRING SIGNAL'.

After the tech left, we went shopping and I bought the 2 LCD televisions that we had planned on earlier. We get the first one assembled and setup. We turn it on, and the picture is at 4:3 aspect ratio instead of 16:1. For literally hours I look through manuals, settings, try their so called troubleshooter (the most worthless piece of junk ever made... if you are gonna troubleshoot an issue, make sure you put some information and answers in the troubleshooter... 4 questions and 3 answers is not a troubleshooter program) application.

I even tried resetting the box like the instructions say, hoping that maybe it would auto-detect my new tv. After hours of getting nowhere, I decide to go to bed at 4:45am this morning to get a little sleep. That brings us to today! This morning at 10:00am I call into DISH Network's tech support line. I explain to the girl what is going on, and I ask her to first schedule another technician (this time preferably one with some experience) to come and align my dish. She does so and we are on to the aspect ratio problem.

I ask her how to change the aspect ratio on my now 1 month old DVR to 16:1 from 4:3, and she puts me on hold for a couple minutes. She comes back and informs me that the DVR equipment I have will not perform that operation and I will have to get 2 more DVR boxes. So here we are with yet another undisclosed item that will result in another large charge for more equipment.

I am informed that the boxes will cost me another $149 each and I will have to pay at least $10 more each month for HD programming. I really didn't want HD programming, I just want the 16:1 aspect ratio for my widescreen tv. I disagree with the charge, but she tells me she will transfer me to someone that may be able to waive the fees since I am still practically a new customer.

She puts me on hold and transfers me into a 'cold call' with another woman that informs me that I have actually been transferred to the cancellation dept (only after I have to explain the entire situation to her again). She then transfers me to another woman that says she can waive the first box, but the software won't let her waive the second. She puts me on hold for a supervisor to see if they can waive it.

The supposed supervisor comes on the line and I have to explain the entire situation to her again. She tells me that she will waive the first box, but the second will cost me not $149 but $549 instead (now the price is almost tripling what it was before I spoke to her). I got upset and told her 'Oh h*ll NO'. she then got really rude and we ended the call. At this point I just had to get outside. While exiting the house, I fell down the steps and broke my ankle. So today is really not going well so far.

Well after a trip to the doctor for a cast, I thought I would try one more time. This time I called AT&T billing to see if they could do anything. The lady there informs me that they can't do anything about it, but she will transfer me to DISH Network's billing dept (here we go again). I go through the entire story once again, and I am confronted by one of the rudest, most ignorant, self righteous personality I have ever seen in customer service. She done nothing but argue that my point was wrong, that she was absolutely right that widescreen was HD (which widescreen could care less about HD... widescreen has been out since the 1920's).

If she actually had any education about formats at all, she would know that HD uses widescreen natively and the scanrate is more important to HD than aspect ratio. And she would also have enough sense not to claim higher knowledge in tech than a 25yr Sr. Engineer from the IT world. She even had the nerve to raise her voice to a customer. I tell you customer service is definitely not serving the customer anymore. At this point I hangup and called DirecTV.

After going over the setup with DirecTV and their packages, I decide to think about it for a bit because I will have to pay $240 cancellation fee to DISH, plus since I am not a new customer to DirecTV... I would have to buy part of the equipment and I really don't like their programming package prices.

After thinking about the situation, I come up with the brilliant idea of having DISH adjust their wiring tp have the HD DVR controlling the 2 LCD televisions and the other standard DVR they put in (that I already paid for mind you) control the 2 standard televisions. So once again I call in to tech support again. This time I actually get someone on the line that understands widescreen, hd, aspect ratios, and scanrates (we are doing good so far). I explain the situation to him, told him about the royal b**** I had before (he agrees that she was way off base and way out of line), and I tell him about the plan I come up with to resolve it.

He said it sounds good and that they could waive the one box and I wouldn't be charged extra for another box. (Oh, looking so good). He also told me that I would be just as well to take the lowest priced HD package because 1. it's required for the upgrade to be free, and 2. even without HD I would still have to pay $7/mo just for the box (so I may as well spend the 3 extra dollars).

Then comes the bad news... I asked him to make absolutely sure that I could set both tv sets on that box to 16:1 aspect ratio. After some research, he finds the answer is no...only 1 tv on the box can be set to 16:3 aspect ratio, the other is only 4:3 aspect. And to top it all off, he didn't find it in any of their literature or books, he had to go try it on one of their boxes.

So now we are right back to square one, I get transferred to yet another supervisor to see if he can do anything (maybe take the $99 charge I paid on the other box off of the $149 fee for the new one). And this one refuses not only to discount the second box in any manner, he tells me I will have to pay $149 for the first box plus $549 for the second box (and that doesn't even include the $99 fee AT&T and I was charged for the first WRONG piece of equipment that was install). So now it would cost me another $700 ($800 counting the first box) just to get 16:1 ratio on my 2 new $2500 worth of LCD televisions.

For 12 years we were with DirecTV. Our DirecTV install was originally performed by myself with equipment we purchased. Under the current pricing scheme, we were offered what appeared to be a much better price through bundling our AT&T service with DISH Network. So we went ahead and bundled our services, and then our problem begins.

On the day of the install, the DISH Network installers arrived about 3:15-3:30pm. They performed a site survey, and asked what rooms in our house was to get what service. We originally ordered DVR service for the living room and 1 bedroom along with standard service for 2 other bedrooms.

The technicians seemed so confused about the way things should be setup and wired that I finally asked them if it would be easier to just add DVR service to all 4 rooms. They said yes, so I called customer service to have our order changed. The lady at customer service was asked if there would be any additional charges for the change, and she stated that there would be a $5.99 charge each month added to the bill for the DVR service in the 2 rooms that would have been just standard programming under the original order.

I felt that the cost was reasonable, and she proceeded to remind me that the equipment would all be under the same original 24 month lease agreement. She asked me to ask the technician if he had a spare DVR box with him, and he said yes. So, up to this point I am feeling pretty great with their service.

Let me also add that I informed them during both calls that we currently had all standard TV sets in the house, but we were buying 2 new LCD TV sets in the near future. So the installers proceed to the install of 4 rooms of DISH DVR service, and I am feeling great. Now comes the first blow... the inform me that the cabling in our house is sub-par for their boxes and the proceed to rip out the old staff and put in new wiring.

Funny, DirecTV ran on the same wiring for 12 years and lost signal maybe 1 time per year due to flood conditions or heavy snow. But fine... go ahead and waste your company's money if you want to, because it doesn't cost me extra. About 45 minutes into the actual work of the install, two more guys show up to help. The installer that seemed to be the lead on the job tells the other guys what wires to run where, and what connections to hookup to each splitter. He proceeds to go then to start setting up the wiring and boxes inside. Meanwhile his partner is mounting the dish on the pole and aligning it, and the other 2 are doing the cables outside.

After the cables are installed, the two are told they can go ahead and go back to their hotel because the job should be about done. At this point the one on the ladder has the dish installed and says he has a good signal of about 70. I tried to tell him that 70 would not be sufficient strength, but he disagreed and said that 70 on his meter was well above 100 on the boxes (a totally ignorant lie or mistake... but he did seem to be new to the job). He proceeds into livingroom to hookup the second box.

Now we finally have both boxes installed, but from the first power-on neither one could find a satellite. So there is about 2 hours spent booting and rebooting, setting and resetting..but no satellite. So the dish man goes out to check his work while the box installer checks over all the inside wiring again.

The dish man says he has tweaked the dish pointing and got the strength to over 100 on his meter. Once again, the boxes can't find the satellite. So the lead guy goes out and checks the dish and the wiring. During the check he finds that the wiring outside, that was supposedly double-checked, was actually reverse of what it should have been at the splitters.

Ok, problem solved, satellite found (but the signal was only 66-70). Next they spent a little time setting the boxes up and then it was time for the paperwork. 'Oops, someone left the paperwork outside in the rain, we will have to come back tomorrow!' At this point, it is more than 8 hrs since these guys showed up, my house is in total disarray, and I am really tired. Ok, so we will see ya tomorrow.

The next morning I get a call from the lead tech and he brings some paperwork by (it looks like the same paperwork from the night before that had been dried out). I sign it, and he loads up the ladder that they forgot the night before. He also asks me if I would like him to take the old dish, the boxes and the old wiring back for recycling. Seems like a nice gesture, and I wasn't going to need the stuff anymore... so sure take it. So far, other than the extremely long and frustrating install and the mess they made of my floors with their boots, I a happy.

A couple weeks go by, and at each rain shower we lose signal. I log into my AT&T account to get the number to call for assistance, and I notice that the bill has arrived. Wow! why is my bill so high? I start going over the bill and see the charge for the programming (prorated, plus the next month in advance), and I also see a $99 service fee that doesn't look right.

I call AT&T and find out that it is an equipment upgrade fee for the 2nd DVR box (the one I was told only would cost $5.99/mo extra). 'I wasn't told about any additional fee, that's fraudulent billing, take it all out' was what AT&T heard next. Well the customer service lady at AT&T talked me into keeping it, if they paid half the cost (even though I was still skeptical and not quite sure about the move I made).

So she gets me over to tech support to get the signal problem and a frequency issue resolved with my remotes. DISH support doesn't even tell me how to set the remote frequency, they just schedule an appointment for a tech to come out and say he will fix it all when he comes in about a week. That brings us up to yesterday.

I get a call about 10am and it is the tech. He tells me that he is running a little early, and he asks if it is ok to come early. I was happy with that, and I told him to go ahead and come fix the issues. Evidentially this 'kid' is a contractor, because he shows up in a Jeep Cherokee with a 20ft ladder strapped to the rood using bunjie cords.

I show him the dish (which is mounted to a mast that extends above the roof), and he proceeds to try and stand in one of our lawn chairs to adjust the dish. I tried to tell him he was too short to reach it, but he had to find out himself (kids). So when he couldn't reach it he goes to remove the 18 bunjie cords from the ladder on his jeep.

I told him we had a ladder that he could use instead under the deck he was standing on, so he proceeded to get our ladder out (I am disabled and have bone and joint issues that limit my arm movement and causes lots of problems in my feet so he had to do the lifting). He climbs up on the ladder stating he thinks it is a bad LNB.

He removes the dual LNB from our dish and just sticks a single one in its place, doesn't put a screw in it, and just lets it sit there. He hooks up his test meter and says 'Oh yeah, I have great signal there, it's your LNB'. (mind you, he put no screws in it, so the single moved everytime he touched the cable or moved his meter).

He then puts a new double LNB in place and we proceed inside to the televisions. Inside the signal is now a little lower than it was before and on a partly cloudy day the signal drops to 50 as a single cloud drifts by. Last night we had a really small shower and just like before 'ACQUIRING SIGNAL'.

After the tech left, we went shopping and I bought the 2 LCD televisions that we had planned on earlier. We get the first one assembled and setup. We turn it on, and the picture is at 4:3 aspect ratio instead of 16:1. For literally hours I look through manuals, settings, try their so called troubleshooter (the most worthless piece of junk ever made... if you are gonna troubleshoot an issue, make sure you put some information and answers in the troubleshooter... 4 questions and 3 answers is not a troubleshooter program) application.

I even tried resetting the box like the instructions say, hoping that maybe it would auto-detect my new tv. After hours of getting nowhere, I decide to go to bed at 4:45am this morning to get a little sleep. That brings us to today! This morning at 10:00am I call into DISH Network's tech support line. I explain to the girl what is going on, and I ask her to first schedule another technician (this time preferably one with some experience) to come and align my dish. She does so and we are on to the aspect ratio problem.

I ask her how to change the aspect ratio on my now 1 month old DVR to 16:1 from 4:3, and she puts me on hold for a couple minutes. She comes back and informs me that the DVR equipment I have will not perform that operation and I will have to get 2 more DVR boxes. So here we are with yet another undisclosed item that will result in another large charge for more equipment.

I am informed that the boxes will cost me another $149 each and I will have to pay at least $10 more each month for HD programming. I really didn't want HD programming, I just want the 16:1 aspect ratio for my widescreen tv. I disagree with the charge, but she tells me she will transfer me to someone that may be able to waive the fees since I am still practically a new customer.

She puts me on hold and transfers me into a 'cold call' with another woman that informs me that I have actually been transferred to the cancellation dept (only after I have to explain the entire situation to her again). She then transfers me to another woman that says she can waive the first box, but the software won't let her waive the second. She puts me on hold for a supervisor to see if they can waive it.

The supposed supervisor comes on the line and I have to explain the entire situation to her again. She tells me that she will waive the first box, but the second will cost me not $149 but $549 instead (now the price is almost tripling what it was before I spoke to her). I got upset and told her 'Oh h*ll NO'. she then got really rude and we ended the call.

At this point I just had to get outside. While exiting the house, I fell down the steps and broke my ankle. So today is really not going well so far. Well after a trip to the doctor for a cast, I thought I would try one more time. This time I called AT&T billing to see if they could do anything. The lady there informs me that they can't do anything about it, but she will transfer me to DISH Network's billing dept (here we go again).

I go through the entire story once again, and I am confronted by one of the rudest, most ignorant, self righteous personality I have ever seen in customer service. She done nothing but argue that my point was wrong, that she was absolutely right that widescreen was HD (which widescreen could care less about HD... widescreen has been out since the 1920's).

If she actually had any education about formats at all, she would know that HD uses widescreen natively and the scan rate is more important to HD than aspect ratio. And she would also have enough sense not to claim higher knowledge in tech than a 25yr Sr. Engineer from the IT world. She even had the nerve to raise her voice to a customer. I tell you customer service is definitely not serving the customer anymore. At this point I hangup and called DirecTV.

After going over the setup with DirecTV and their packages, I decide to think about it for a bit because I will have to pay $240 cancellation fee to DISH, plus since I am not a new customer to DirecTV... I would have to buy part of the equipment and I really don't like their programming package prices.

After thinking about the situation, I come up with the brilliant idea of having DISH adjust their wiring tp have the HD DVR controlling the 2 LCD televisions and the other standard DVR they put in (that I already paid for mind you) control the 2 standard televisions. So once again I call in to tech support again. This time I actually get someone on the line that understands widescreen, hd, aspect ratios, and scanrates (we are doing good so far). I explain the situation to him, told him about the royal b**** I had before (he agrees that she was way off base and way out of line), and I tell him about the plan I come up with to resolve it.

He said it sounds good and that they could waive the one box and I wouldn't be charged extra for another box. (Oh, looking so good). He also told me that I would be just as well to take the lowest priced HD package because 1. it's required for the upgrade to be free, and 2. even without HD I would still have to pay $7/mo just for the box (so I may as well spend the 3 extra dollars).

Then comes the bad news... I asked him to make absolutely sure that I could set both tv sets on that box to 16:1 aspect ratio. After some research, he finds the answer is no...only 1 tv on the box can be set to 16:3 aspect ratio, the other is only 4:3 aspect. And to top it all off, he didn't find it in any of their literature or books, he had to go try it on one of their boxes.

So now we are right back to square one, I get transferred to yet another supervisor to see if he can do anything (maybe take the $99 charge I paid on the other box off of the $149 fee for the new one). And this one refuses not only to discount the second box in any manner, he tells me I will have to pay $149 for the first box plus $549 for the second box (and that doesn't even include the $99 fee AT&T and I was charged for the first WRONG piece of equipment that was install). So now it would cost me another $700 ($800 counting the first box) just to get 16:1 ratio on my 2 new $2500 worth of LCD televisions.