Direct TV is raising rates, again...

We just received an email from Direct TV telling us to go to some website to see the increased rates for our satellite TV "service"... right in the middle of an economic recession, with millions of people out of work, millions of homes in foreclosure, many RV companies in Chapter 11 or 7, here comes good ole DTV with a "sock it to'em rate increase".  Incredible, just incredible.  Does the CEO need a larger bonus?

To top it off, every week it seems like we get a glossy, full color brochure from Direct TV advertising some new incentive to attract new customers with a free this or a free that, reduced rates and what not.  It's interesting that they are willing, even driven, to spend millions to get new customers but do nothing to keep the customers they have, happy????

Then, a few days later, we get a similar glossy, full color brochure from Dish offering to beat any deal from DTV with reduced fees for a year, free HD DVR receivers and premium channels free for three months plus, if we agree to paperless billing, we get Cinimax for a year for 1 cent.

Is it just me or is anyone else tempted to switch, just for "the hell of it"? :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ ;D ;D ;D ;D

sorry for the rant, but it's less expensive than therapy.

Several years ago when we were trying to decide which satellite company we would go with.  We chose DirecTV.  Worked out fine for a few years until they started "playing games" with our service.  I was on the phone with them several times a day for 6 weeks and never got our problem resolved.  I called Dish got what we wanted and more for a lot less and nicer employees.  Never looked back.

taoshum said:

We just received an email from Direct TV telling us to go to some website to see the increased rates for our satellite TV "service"... right in the middle of an economic recession, with millions of people out of work, millions of homes in foreclosure, many RV companies in Chapter 11 or 7, here comes good ole DTV with a "sock it to'em rate increase".  Incredible, just incredible.  Does the CEO need a larger bonus?

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No big deal.  Just turn off DirecTV and use a TV antenna.  You won't have pay anyone. 

Phil said:

No big deal.  Just turn off DirecTV and use a TV antenna.  You won't have pay anyone.

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Doesn't work here.  The reception is very poor even with a huge antenna.  The closest stations are far away and reception fades in and out.  Plus I don't like to watch commercials, at all.

And you want the gov. to tell them what it's OK to charge? Tell them to kiss off and switch to Dish or cable. After many people do just that, they'll get the message. That's how free enterprise works.

Now it may just be possible that they are passing along rate increases from the stations or increases in taxes from the Feds.

BruceinFL said:

And you want the gov. to tell them what it's OK to charge? Tell them to kiss off and switch to Dish or cable. After many people do just that, they'll get the message. That's how free enterprise works.

Now it may just be possible that they are passing along rate increases from the stations or increases in taxes from the Feds.

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I don't want the gov't to do anything about the rates.  I probably will switch to Dish once I find out the details and if it makes sense.

However, I do want the option of an ala carte subscription which will probably take FCC intervention to make it available.  They "broadcast", like 500 channels, and I block all but 86 of them so I'm paying to subsidize all the other channels with no benefit.  Too bad for me, Dish and Cable are the same way.  The satellite companies will never offer this of their own accord, IMHO.

That may be how "free enterprise" is supposed to work but "free enterprise" isn't working very well these days IMHO or we would not be using borrowed gov't money to bail out the "free enterpirse" system.  "Free Enterprise" wants to keep all the gains of "free enterprise" and socialize the losses.  Let's leave the politics out of the satellite TV discussion, huh?

I took the liberty last night to re-word taoshum's tirate as an e-mail to DirecTV's CEO.  Today I received a cursory phone call from "Chris" explaining that costs have increased, etc. etc. etc. I guess I didn't expect much else.

geodrake said:

I took the liberty last night to re-word taoshum's tirate as an e-mail to DirecTV's CEO.  Today I received a cursory phone call from "Chris" explaining that costs have increased, etc. etc. etc. I guess I didn't expect much else.

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Costs have increased - ROTFL!  We are almost in disinflation.

We are almost in disinflation.

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Is that like deflation

Actually, disinflation is a decrease in the rate of inflation, but doesn't imply a reversal.

Oh - yup - deflation  : - in either case, not a good rationale (excuse) to raise rates.

geodrake said:

I took the liberty last night to re-word taoshum's tirade as an email to DirecTV's CEO.  Today I received a cursory phone call from "Chris" explaining that costs have increased, etc. etc. etc. I guess I didn't expect much else.

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Hey, Thanks! I wish I had a bunch of CEO email addresses.  I know the CEO's try to keep them secret because they don't really want to hear from consumer level customers.  Of course "they" know best, LOL.  I find it so interesting that it is almost impossible to send an email to Google... much less the CEO.  I finally went to their "Investor Relations" website and found an address but they never answered.  In 2007 I tried to reach an automatic transmission engineer at Ford and after about 20 calls I was diverted to a "customer representative" who said she would talk to the engineers for me and call me back.  Never got a call.  There's a real safety problem with the new Fusion 6 spd AT and I wanted to let 'em know but, no way... they don't want to know until the NTSB calls and orders a recall.  OTOH, I'm very impressed with the Freightliner service and culture as well as Cummins and WB.  After 15 Fords, I'm switching, just like Direct TV.  It's a lot less expensive to "keep a customer" than to "get a new customer" but so few companies realize it, IMHO.

I just noticed that this is posting number 500.  I never imagined doing something like this.  Amazing to me.

I have found that e-mails to CEOs don't generally work well.  I write lots of letters to CEOs, and about 99.9% of the time get response.  Most often my letters have to do with dissatisfaction over faulty products or poor service.  I have found that a letter that simply states the problem and what I expect as a resolution works best.  In this case I realized that I could not succeed in preventing the increase and just wanted to vent, so I resorted to the e-mail.  The fact that I got a call back really surprised me, especially with the call coming the very next day.

DirecTV is being sued,, Some folks were upset at all the "Fine Print" in the contract and the lies told by the sales staff (Trust me. they lie) and in the state of Washington.. A case was brought.

Very good chance that if it is successful other customers, myself included (See trust me they lie) will follow suit.

They need to raise the rate to pay for the loss

After all. companies do not pay settlements.. Customers do.

They also do not pay fines or taxes.. Customers do.

It's all 2.5ed and added to your bill (or is it 4.5 these days)

Satellite TV is pretty irreplaceable if you want TV most of the places you camp, I think. Unfortunately, with only a couple of choices, moving from one to the other probably isn't going to upset the companies as the customers aren't organized in sufficient numbers for them to care. Contract violations and misrepresentations are a different story, though. Any decision yet in that case?

Fun verbiage, wish I'd said that:

"Follow suit" -- heh heh. Contact plaintiffs' attorneys, maybe you can join.

"Disinflation" - need an economic Pressure Pro here? 

geodrake said:

I have found that e-mails to CEOs don't generally work well.  I write lots of letters to CEOs, and about 99.9% of the time get response. 

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What's your opinion of writing to the gov't regulators that have "oversight" responsibility for the company?  Like the FCC, the FAA, the NTSB, DOT, HHS, or similar state agencies depending on jurisdiction.  If they were to write a letter to the company on your behalf would it carry more influence?  Just curious?  thanks.

I don't have much experience writing to federal agencies, but have had success at local govt. level.  I have written and continue to write our elected Washington officials and always get a response.  The responses are ambiguous as you might expect.  I do strongly believe that it is only through communications that we have any chance of getting those political rascals to do anything constructive. 

To your question; I spent 26 years with the local telephone company division of Sprint and can assure you that communications from FCC, Public Service Commissions, even county commissioners get lots of attention.

Well.. the  government unit that regulates Satellite Television (in fact all broadcastes) is the FCC and I suspect the reply you would get is

"We have no control over the rates"

The best thing you can do is write Dish Network.. Dish Network does have some control over DirecTV's rates.. IN that they are the competition.

However frankly.. I see them responding with a rate hike as well.

Just one question for the O/P.

You said you got an E-mail from DirecTV telling you about the higher rates?

Are you SURE it came from DirecTV?

Are you sure the web page was legit?

Usually that info is not communicated by E-mail but by very fine print on the bill so they can say they told you without actually telling you.

John,

Actually I got an email saying that "important rate information had just been posted on their website" and that if I wanted to read about it, I should go to their website and click on news or something to that effect.  When you do that, you are correct, you get a page with like 6 point fonts that are almost impossible to read and definitely impossible to understand. 

I'm not sure about anything anymore...

I'm not sure that the web page is legit either, although I've seen the same news in the NY Times.

We don't get a paper bill so we would not see the announcement that way, anyway.

thanks, G.

DTV notified us our rates would increase by $5 per month and they did..tim