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I am LIVID with my TV company

H and I live in the middle of nowhere. So much so that we can't have high speed internet  because all the ports are full because AT&T is the only provider in the area. I also can't get Time Warner Cable because they don't come out that far. So in order for us to have satellite we have Direct TV. To have internet (which we have to have because H is in school and has an online class and I have to have the ability to work from home), we have to have a mobile hot spot through AT&T which is $50 a month for shitty service. Our Direct TV bill was $80 per month and just increased to $130 because our 1-year new customer promotion ran up.

Well about a month ago I got a feeling to check with TWC if they serviced my house yet. I was told they did, so yay! Well I called today to set up the order, installation time, and programming. I then started to cancel my other services (and pay cancellation fees) when I get an email from TWC saying "oh, nope, we don't service your area. Sorry". I was livid! I called and talked with someone who told me that the guy I talked to should have told me that they had to survey the area first to make sure it was serviceable before setting an installation date (or taking my card info). 

Luckily, my cancellations hadn't gone through yet so I cancelled my cancellations and asked Direct TV what deals they could give me to keep me as a loyal customer. I know, I KNOW, that the deals run out in the first year, but they usually will give you another deal to keep you as a customer. Nope, they gave me $10 off only because I asked if they had state employees discounts. 

I'm just frustrated because I was excited to be saving money with TWC (only $115 per month versus $180 with what we have now) and to have good internet and now we can't and I'm freaking out about the $50 increase on Direct TV.

Re: I am LIVID with my TV company

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    Just get rid of Direct TV. . . . that's what we did.  We kept internet and watch all the shows we want through Netflix and Hulu
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    kaos16 said:
    Just get rid of Direct TV. . . . that's what we did.  We kept internet and watch all the shows we want through Netflix and Hulu
    This is what FSIL did and she also has Apple TV. She's really happy with it, and doesn't have to pay the huge bills. 

    But I'm sorry you got the run-around just for the big let-down. That's so so so frustrating :( This would be a good time for a huge glass of wine. 
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    kaos16 said:
    Just get rid of Direct TV. . . . that's what we did.  We kept internet and watch all the shows we want through Netflix and Hulu

    I would normally agree with this but OP, would your mobile hotspot give you enough speed to be able to stream televisions shows?
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    kaos16 said:
    Just get rid of Direct TV. . . . that's what we did.  We kept internet and watch all the shows we want through Netflix and Hulu
    This is what FSIL did and she also has Apple TV. She's really happy with it, and doesn't have to pay the huge bills. 

    But I'm sorry you got the run-around just for the big let-down. That's so so so frustrating :( This would be a good time for a huge glass of wine. 
    I would get rid of Direct TV and just use internet but the signal from our hot spot is so bad we can barely even do what we need to as is. We can't stream any videos.

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    kaos16 said:
    Just get rid of Direct TV. . . . that's what we did.  We kept internet and watch all the shows we want through Netflix and Hulu

    I would normally agree with this but OP, would your mobile hotspot give you enough speed to be able to stream televisions shows?
    Unfortunately not, if we could get regular DSL internet then I definitely would. Even if it meant missing my favorite shows :(

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    DH watches too much sports, live news and other shows that getting rid of cable is not an option for us.   We just suck up the higher costs.   We do not go to the movies though, so I think of it as entertainment.








    What differentiates an average host and a great host is anticipating unexpressed needs and wants of their guests.  Just because the want/need is not expressed, doesn't mean it wouldn't be appreciated. 
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    emmaaa said:
    kaos16 said:
    Just get rid of Direct TV. . . . that's what we did.  We kept internet and watch all the shows we want through Netflix and Hulu
    This is what FSIL did and she also has Apple TV. She's really happy with it, and doesn't have to pay the huge bills. 

    But I'm sorry you got the run-around just for the big let-down. That's so so so frustrating :( This would be a good time for a huge glass of wine. 
    I would get rid of Direct TV and just use internet but the signal from our hot spot is so bad we can barely even do what we need to as is. We can't stream any videos.
    Aw man I'm sorry. That just makes it even more frustrating. 
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    Somehow we actually get a better deal paying for cable and internet together. Really not sure how that works. DH watches tons of sports and other channels not on basic cable so we are keeping it for now. 
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    We have a cable provider that can't block all signals. so we canceled TV last year and still get the basic channels.

    The nail in the coffin was that they stopped carrying YES the night before opening day. So DH and I day down to begin Jeter's last season only to see a black screen.

    Eff that.
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    OP, we're in a similar boat.  No cable or other internet utilities out by our house.  So we have Exede satellite internet (pretty decent) and Dish Network (great!).  I've had both DirectTV and Dish.  I LOATHE DirectTV.  They're constantly bugging you with "free" promotions, then charge you anyway.  It takes nearly an act of congress to get those charges reversed.  Once we canceled, they started sending us promotional crap in a greeting-card style envelope with our address printed in a font that looks like handwriting.  It just feels like they're trying to sneak into your home.  Ugh.

    Dish has been awesome.  We just finished our first year with them, and yes, our bill went up a little, but not much.  And to top it off?  They sent us some free On-Demand coupons (but we can't use them with our satellite internet) and a free month to some premium channels.  It says right on the promotion that the channels will be taken off our account at the end of the month.  No sneaky extra billing.  Made me love them.

    ETA: Paragraphs
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    Give DISH a try.
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    I have definitely considered switching to Dish..

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    I'm sorry, cable companies are the WORST.  I finally won a 3-month battle with Comcast, but it required probably 3 hours on the phone and some incorrect bills.  Ugh.

    BUT - I never thought of asking them about government employee discounts!  I'll definitely have to do that the next time I have to talk to them.  Thanks for that idea!

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