We just canceled our Dish Network service after fulfilling our 18-month contract. From my experiences, I want to share with you a few things:

Be aware of the programing access fee

One time, I called their customer service for something, and while I was on the phone and looking at my bill, I asked about what ‘Programming Access fee’ was, and learned that we had been charged $5 every month because of not having a phone line hooked up to the DVR. But we had never been told that they charge a fee for that. That’s really unfair business practice, they should have told us in front. So I told my handyman husband to run a telephone line to the DVR. I was told that the DVR will automatically detect the phone line and they will remove the fee afterwards. They refused to refund the $5 that we have paid every month for more than a year prior.

The following month when I received the bill, the $5 fee was still on, so I called, and learned that I needed to use the remote to change settings because we use VOIP telephone instead of regular land line. So I did that.

The month after that, the $5 fee was still there. So I called again, and got different instructions and finally removed that fee. It took some efforts on my part.

So look at your bill, if you are using Dish Network, see if you are paying such fee unknowingly.

Set password to lock out your pay-per-view

We did not set password before. It did not matter when we did not have a phone line hooked up. But after we hooked up the phone line, one day my husband saw on the screen that my daughter somehow ordered a pay-per-view for a live sport event that cost $79, he almost got a heart-attack. OK, I’m joking, but it was a little stressful trying to figure out how to cancel it on the screen pressing on the buttons of the remote control. And of course, you don’t have that option on the screen, you have to call them.

So remember to set up password, that is, if you use Dish Net work, or other TV services.

Life without Dish Network

is pretty good. Currently we don’t have any paid TV services. My husband dug out his old antenna from the garage and hooked it up to the TV, so we still have some channels to watch. We decided not to spend too much time watching TV, and improving our life at the same time saving money is good.

Recent Carnival

Take Charge of Your Health Care Blog Carnival- June 22, 2008 is hosted on Health Plans Plus. Take a look!