DirecTV's charge to change local broadcast channels

[Camphost4fun]

This post is a warning to RVers who have DirecTV and want to change their local broadcast channels. We were blindsided by a $199 charge and the initiation of a NEW 2 year agreement.

My husband used to love DirecTV. When we bought our first trailer in 2015 he tried to get a portable dish to work. Finally he bought a Winegard Traveler. In 2017 we sold our home and began living in our RV full time. We did not travel outside of our home state  until May 2018 when we headed to Idaho for the summer. It took seven phone calls over three days ( for a total of 202 minutes) to get the Idaho channels. The change was made by sending a signal to the receiver. No equipment was installed and no technician had to visit. And during all those phone calls no one from DirecTV offered any other option to get the broadcast networks.

In June we were updating our mailing address online and saw the $199 "Movers" charge. My husband called to complain and was told by "John" that the charge would be removed. The next day the charge was still on the account. My husband called again and was told that it would always cost $199 to change the local broadcast channels. (and again, no other option was suggested.) That is when he ordered equipment from DISH. On July 6 he had the DISH equipment working and he called DirecTV to cancel. That is when he was told that "early termination" fees would apply. He was stunned because he had no idea the move had initiated a new 2 year agreement. "Miguel", the customer service representative finally said the early termination charges would not apply but those charges have never been removed.

In September we traveled back to our home state and the process to change the local broadcast channels with DISH was incredibly easy. My husband used  the MyDish app which automatically recognized our new location. In minutes the channels were updated and there was NO CHARGE.

Fortunately we learned from a fellow camper that it is possible to convert a Winegard Traveler to DISH. The component cost $295.98 and my husband handled the installation himself.

In summary our issue with DirecTV is the fact they never told us the "move" would cost $199 and initiate a new 2 year agreement and they never suggested any other way to get the broadcast networks.

 

[JudyJB]

A lot of Camping World Stores do not even carry the Direct TV receivers any more.

And the nice thing about DISH is that you never have to sign a contract!  It is month-to-month, so no early cancellation fees, hence few people are using Direct TV for RVs.

 

[John Stephens]

In my opinion, neither Dish or DirecTV has respectable customer service. I was with Dish for ten years and wanted a new Hopper with all the bells and whistles. I was told I could get one only if I re-upped with a new two year contract. This, after I had been month to month for eight years after my original two year contract expired. No problem as long as you can give me the preferred rate for the entire two years. I was told no problem by the CSR and he quoted me what my monthly charge would be for the entire 24 months, telling me he would give me discounts to bring it down to that figure. When I got my first month's bill, I noticed the largest discount - $25.00 - was billed as 1 out of 10, not 24. I called Dish back up and asked what was going on and was told that they never give a discount for the entire contract term and the CSR basically lied to me to get the sale. I terminated my plan with them after the first year and was supposed to pay an early termination fee, but they never charged it, probably because I made so much noise about their shady business practices.

But with DirecTV, there is no need to change local stations if you have a DVR at home and their app on your smart phone. Unfortunately for you, this is not going to help a full timer. When I was with Dish, I found out how easy it is to change local programming the first time I used my new equipment in the coach. But when I got home, I found that my local programming that was supposed to be recorded on the DVR was nowhere to be found because it tried to record the newly assigned local stations in the different town we were vacationing in. That turned into a fiasco. I have no plans on using the $500 worth of antenna and receiver I bought for Dish now that I no longer have their home service, so this turned out to be a waste of money with the equipment being used only one time.

 

[ip076]

I don't have DirecTV or Dish, nor do I usually every worry about TV in the 5er, in which I live full time.  I'm just not a TV guy anymore.

Have you ever considered using DirecTV for what it is, and then supplementing it by hooking up to Cable (if provided) or an Over-the-air antenna for the local channels?