DirecTV Prices going UP!!!! - Montana Owners Club

exav8tr · 01-16-2011, 03:18 PM

Got an Email tonight stating that as of Feb 10th my rates would be going up. I can't tell how much overall but it is time for us to drop some of the extras and just go back to basics. They are not getting any more money out of me and probably less. GREED is taking over this country......and has been for quite a while. I think it really started with people "Flipping a house" to make a profit. The only time I have sold one of our seven homes we lived in is because the military sent us somewhere else or we wanted to move from a neighborhood. I never looked at a house as stock to be bought and sold just to make money. Now look where we are today. Whatever happened to buying a house to live in and raise kids and die in? I guess I am living in the past.......

H. John Kohl · 01-16-2011, 03:28 PM

I called them and challenged them on prices and they worked with me. Worth a try.

exav8tr · 01-16-2011, 03:44 PM

John, could you elaborate on this statement. PM me if you care, I really want to lower our costs without losing too much.

Thanks Phil

HamRad · 01-16-2011, 04:15 PM

Phil,
We may end up doing the same thing. There is so much stuff that we never use. I did note that there was one or two packages that were a little bit less than now. Will have to see how things play out. Good luck to us all..... Dennis

jimcol · 01-17-2011, 01:33 AM

Phil, It's not only the wireless cable providers. Time Warner and Comcast are doing the same thing here in KC. Just got our last Time Warner bill with a 8% increase for a pretty basic package. They have had similar increases every 4 to 6 months for the last 2 years. I think they are just testing to see what the market will bear. Won't change until people start disconnecting. I'd go back to using my antenae like we do when we are traveling. With digital TV there are more free over the aire stations and it takes less time to decide there is nothing worth watching on 30 free channels than on 80 cable channels. DW feels quite different. I must leave now to go pay the cable bill. Jim

Waynem · 01-17-2011, 02:21 AM

I'm cutting back for a different reason. We noticed that the quality of movies on HBO, the only extra package we have, has diminished considerably. We were trying to remember the last time we watched a movie on that network and we couldn't. So, time to cut back. Also, the pay per view movies are $4.99 for standard definition and $5.99 for HD. Red Box has made it a lot cheaper to rent one of their movies for $1.00 SD and $1.50 HD. You would think that the Satellite networks would get the message - and Block Buster.

Besides, I'm going to need my money for that higher fuel cost.

dandt · 01-17-2011, 03:34 AM

Phil...we also recieved this e-mail and was quite upset. I called and asked if they had any promos and they did extend a loyal customer off of $10 a month for a year. I don't know if you use the distant network package for fulltime rvers, but if you have east/west coast it also went up to $20 a month. I agre remember when you had an antenna on the roof and you got 3 channels and you were happy

. In a time where wages, SS has been frozen they sure have continued to raise thier rates. Teresa

CamillaMichael · 01-17-2011, 03:46 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by exav8tr

John, could you elaborate on this statement. PM me if you care, I really want to lower our costs without losing too much.

Thanks Phil

Phil, it is amazing how these notice of fee increases can be cancelled by a call to the company...we have called on credit cards and other accounts, such as cable/internet service, and told the customer service rep to cancel our account...when asked why, I told them their rate increases were too much. Amazingly, they told me that they could work out something...in each case, we kept the account with the same rate. Some kind of scam, I guess. Michael

indy roadrunner · 01-17-2011, 04:26 AM

Phil ole buddy, the reason they are raising your rates is because they offered me "give away" prices to come back as a customer. I got a nice letter of how much they missed me and wanted me to come back at the unheard of price of only 29.95. Now is small print at the bottom of the page it was noted that was for a limited time only. So they raise yours to off set my low price.
Call them up and tell them that if they can't work out a deal there is another company wanting your business.

Pete Hanson · 01-17-2011, 06:31 AM

It seems like these kind of price increases have escallated in the last year or two. We work hard for wahatever money we have and everyone else wants to relieve us of it. The sad thing is they don't increase or improve their services while taking more of our money. Who needs 250, 350 or 500 channels anyway? These companies spent a lot of time and energy convincing us that we need all of them. I'm on antenna and it is still free and vastly improved now that it is digital.

Trailer Trash 2 · 01-17-2011, 08:07 AM

Does that mean Dish Net is next for a rate increese?

I feel for you Phil, I could see a insreese if they maintained there wires on the poles, but they dont, you still have the old receiver and Remote I bet, I dont think they shot a new satelite up there lately, could it be the stock holders need another boat or summer cottage in the Alps.
If everybody that was a customer and there contract for there two year membership was up, if they all went and said "Disconnect my service" there income would drop, then they would lay off thousands of employiees, who they would then blame it to a drop in revanew (us) it sounds like a no win situation.
It upsets me also Corperate Greed.

jimcol · 01-17-2011, 11:11 AM

Don,
I am certainly not defending the increases but you can't put all the blame on the providers. Remember they have to buy their programming from someone. All those someones want more for their programs. That is how they pay their big name stars a million dollars per episode. Jim

mlh · 01-17-2011, 01:39 PM

Phil
I guess I'm a little old fashioned too. I was born raised and have lived on the same little farm all my life.
Lynwod

ExPatNW · 01-17-2011, 03:47 PM

While this subject is being discussed, let me add some info that might help some others on this forum. I discovered recently that the way to get a better price from Comcast was to mention you are about to switch to their competition (whoever that might be in your area). I was having a "discussion" with the Comcast guy behind the desk when I mentioned I was thinking of moving to Verizon (now Frontier here for cable tv) and he actually said "Oh - now you mentioned Verizon I can give you this better rate"... I find this pretty disgusting behavior. I honestly now believe there are a lot of people in my area (and may be others) paying too much for their cable TV and Comcast are just ripping them off.

More recently we noticed our price kept going up each month so I called Comcast. They said we had a lot of introductory offers that were running out and so the price was going up. Eventually I was passed to "Advanced Customer care" and after a long discussion on what if I valued their service (not much) we got the price down to a level I can stomach. But here is the real pain, its only for 6 months before I will have to call them again, argue the price until they lower it for another 6 months.

Wouldn't it just be easier to set a reasonable price. I would certainly think better of their organization...

Thanks for putting up with my rant!
Chris

richfaa · 01-18-2011, 04:08 AM

We just dropped to a lower priced package. We already get 10.00 off for being a long term customer. The cost of everything is going up and the consumer pays or drops the service. we also use red box for movies.

exav8tr · 01-18-2011, 08:47 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by ExPatNW

While this subject is being discussed, let me add some info that might help some others on this forum. I discovered recently that the way to get a better price from Comcast was to mention you are about to switch to their competition (whoever that might be in your area). I was having a "discussion" with the Comcast guy behind the desk when I mentioned I was thinking of moving to Verizon (now Frontier here for cable tv) and he actually said "Oh - now you mentioned Verizon I can give you this better rate"... I find this pretty disgusting behavior. I honestly now believe there are a lot of people in my area (and may be others) paying too much for their cable TV and Comcast are just ripping them off.

More recently we noticed our price kept going up each month so I called Comcast. They said we had a lot of introductory offers that were running out and so the price was going up. Eventually I was passed to "Advanced Customer care" and after a long discussion on what if I valued their service (not much) we got the price down to a level I can stomach. But here is the real pain, its only for 6 months before I will have to call them again, argue the price until they lower it for another 6 months.

Wouldn't it just be easier to set a reasonable price. I would certainly think better of their organization...

Thanks for putting up with my rant!
Chris

Chris, I wholeheartedly agree with you. I HATE doing business with these kind of people. Think of the many elderly folks who do not know enough to threaten, or is not in their nature to do that, to change companies and never get a smaller rate. There is a nicer, more PC term for these companies that eludes me right now, Let's just use the term "CROOKS".

tom41 · 01-18-2011, 10:39 AM

I hadDish tv for 8 yrs,now have directtv. there is no difference between the two IMO. Both are too expensive for what a person gets IMO! Someone mentioned the cost of programing...What programming???? All the shows and movies they now show are all reruns, I have seen the same movie run as many as 4 times in a month!! and the ad's, one right after another!! 4 minutes of a show, then 5to6 minutes of ads! just time them sometime. they make millions off of ad's, then that much off of us. I have thought of going to antenna where I can get at least 15 to 20 channels free, and pocket the $$$$ myself. I now go to fleamarkets and thrift stores and pick up some really good movies for as little as .75 cents to $2.00, then I can run my own "reruns" for just pennies!!
Tom

scductman · 01-18-2011, 12:55 PM

I had direct tv installed at home because time warners bill got so high. Only stayed with them 3 months because the bill was suppose to be 29.99 for the first yr But was 52.00 so after a couple of calls with no help I sent them their equip back. am I wrong but remember when cable started it was commercial free that was the big draw. BOY things change huh.
bobby

camper4 · 01-18-2011, 01:27 PM

I am not happy with DIRECT TV's increase either. I have a full year left on my contract with them but after that I will shop around for a better deal.
Right now I have Time Warner at home also. Both providers let me suspend for periods of time. But as soon as possible, I will have one provider. At least there will be half the frustration... maybe.

Champ_49 · 01-19-2011, 12:41 AM

Ok I have a question. If you have a contract with them, do they not have to comply with that contract also. They say we can't break a contract, so why can they. I would say that a change in rate is breaking the contract.

I know I know, wishful thinking on my part but I believe my logic is not that far out!!!

Dave

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