It’s Your Fault

I work for one of America’s leading satellite TV companies and I know most of how business is ran. We advertise our prices and deals on our website, although there are a lot of footnotes to be found; we make public our customer agreements; and we make ourselves available to our customers 24/7: through our dedicated website, toll-free numbers, and automated phone systems. When we sign our customers up, we furnish them with a copy of our service agreement, an owner’s manual, and an assortment of other paraphernalia designed to make their stay with our company an enjoyable one. We send them a copy of their bills monthly and if anything has changed or will be changing with what they signed up for, we make sure we inform inform them well ahead of time.

This is the reason why I find the number of complaints about how our company disseminates information surprising. I honestly believe that America is just not paying attention.

Granted, a whole lot of things has been happening lately economy-wise and has rocked pretty much everybody’s boat so it’s really difficult to focus on something as mundane as a TV bill but I don’t think it fair that the blame is put on companies as big as your TV company, your phone company, your Internet company, your computer manufacturer, and on, and on the long list goes. You have been equipped with everything you need and then some.

Let’s say for example, your signing up for new service. You must be aware that new customers will always be given a deal that’s supposed to wow them enough to sign up. Usually, after the year is over, the deal is back to its regular price. There’s usually a lot of providers to choose from as well so you can pick the one the best suits your need and the one that makes the most sense to you. I’ll be quoting prices from three satellite TV providers available in the market today: DISH Network, DirecTV, and the newest offering from AT&T, U-verse. Also, since early termination fees is the second runner up in customer complaints that we receive, I have also included a brief overview of each company’s contract agreements and links to where you can find more information about them.

Here’s the available AT&T U-verse offers for you(taken from https://uverse1.att.com/un/launchAMSS.do ; U-verse by the way, would require you bundle your TV with your high speed Internet): you can start and build your own bundle at $69.99; you can have Internet an 200 channels for $84; Internet and 260 channels for $104; and Internet and 320 channels for $124 a month. Not bad at all. You must however pay attention to the big thing in an exploding speech bubble that says this offer is possible with a $200 cash back. U-verse also promises that you are not bound under any terms to keep the services for a certain period of time. Rare, but this is a very good deal. This means that if you choose to cancel the service at any time, you can and you would only have to pay for the time that you have already used the service. Learn to scrutinize the offer further as you will find the terms and conditions in more detail here

DirecTV, however will sing a different song for you. There’s an option for bundling but it is not really a requirement. The price range from family, 45 channels for $29.99; choice, 150 channels for $29.99′ choice extra, 200 channels for $34.99; and then you get the plus dvr and the plus hd dvr which contain the same number of channels they choice extra except it can record shows and present them in high definition, they are $62.99 and $72.99 respectively. The last package is called the Premier package, it contains all the channels which total 265 channels for $81.99. All packages include locals and can be further studied here: www.directv.com. There’s a commitment agreement of 18-24 months depending on the kind of receiver you have which can be read here: www.directv.com/agreements.

Lastly, there’s DISH Network with Family, Top 100, Top 100 Plus, Top 200, Top 250, and America’s Everything. The prices are $19.99 for 40 channels, $32.99 for a 100, $42.99 for 100 channels with regional sports networks, $44.99 for 200 channels, $54.99 for 250 channels, and $94.98 for 250 channels plus 31 more commercial-free premium movie channels. For commitments, the customer has a choice of either paying $99 or subscribing to a 24-month commitment. The terms for new customers can be found here.

It’s up to you to decide which you are more comfortable with. I think it will be a fairly easy choice for most people. Now this is going to be a lot of reading to do, but just like in school, if you do your homework it will surely pay off. And you won’t just get a star or an A+ for it, but you’ll have more bucks for mortgage, food, and other home expenses–the stuff that really matters. So read up and save people!