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I Hate
Telemarketers And Especially the Dish
Network
By Daniel Muniz
I hate telemarketers. And I despise the dialers with the automated
voice recordings the most.
Not too long ago, an automated dialer called me up. The first couple
of days I simply ignored the phone calls because I could tell from
the Caller ID that the caller was a telemarketing pest. But what
annoyed me the most was that my home phone number was already on the
FTC’s “Do Not Call” list so I should not have been contacted in the
first place.
By the third day I realized that this telemarketer was probably
going to call every single day. My wife also had told me that we
actually receive a couple of calls throughout the day although she
too never
answers them.
What began as a simple annoyance turned into outright anger although
I wanted to handle the situation as calmly as possible. The next time the pest called, I
picked up the phone. I was a bit perturbed to discover that it was
actually an automated voice recording on the other side instead of a
real live human being. In general, people hate telemarketers but a
machine calling you with a sales pitch is very aggravating.
I sat through the lengthy voice message that was hawking a satellite
dish and navigated through the voice commands until I got a hold of
a live telemarketer. As I gently tried to explain that I was not
interested in their product and to not call me anymore, the telemarketer rudely hung up on me
before I could finish.
Now I was incensed!
During the phone call, I was calm because I wanted to be as polite
as possible so I could ensure that my name was removed from their
automated dialer. Instead, the moment that the pest realized that I
was in no way interested in their satellite dish, he muttered a few
words in exasperation and hung up.
Since there wasn’t a number on the Caller ID, there was nothing I
could do but to wait until the next time that they called, which
wouldn’t be too long.
While I was at work, my wife answered the phone the next time that
the dialer called. She was able to tell the pest to get us removed
from the calling list. The telemarketer apologized and told her that
we would no longer be called again.
The next day we got another automated phone call from the same
telemarketer. This time, I too was able to calmly explain to the
pest that we are on the FTC "Do Not Call" list and that we should not be receiving
any calls at all. This telemarketer explained that we shouldn’t have
gotten the sales call in the first place and that he didn’t know why
the automated dialer would still try to reach us. He submitted a
request to have our number removed from their calling list.
The next day we got still another phone call from the same
telemarketing pest.
This time I tried to get basic information like employee number,
location of their call center, etc., so I could file a complaint to
the FTC. Instead, one pest said that he was wasting his time with and hung up
while the others didn’t really say anything when they too also hung
up on me.
The next few days I tried a few different approaches with the
various pests I spoke to. I did gather that they calling for the
Dish Network but that they were too stingy to give me any additional
information.
I then located the corporate phone numbers for the Dish Network and
was then appalled at what I found out.
The corporate office apologized for the daily phone calls but they
told me that it would take at least 30 days to completely remove me
from all of their calling lists. They had no idea who was calling me
because the local dealerships contract out to different call centers
to do their telemarketing.
Of course I asked the obvious question. That is that I was
indifferent to their product or service but now that I have been
harassed for all these weeks, why would I even be inclined to ever
think positively of your company?
Naturally, the representative and
manager I spoke to didn’t have any answer to that. And several days later, the phone calls finally stopped.
Looking back, I imagine that this must be one of the worst possible
marketing strategies that a nationally known company could employ.
It may work to rope in a handful of customers but they ultimately
tarnish their image to everybody else. What is the purpose of acting
like a collection agency by calling every single day with an
automatic dialer?
And why not immediately remove the phone number from someone who is
not interested in purchasing your product or service?
It didn’t take long for my indifference to quickly slip away. Now I
will never have anything to do with Dish Network if I am ever in the
market for a satellite dish. But a lot of companies don’t care. They
want the fast buck and they will worry later when they cannot seem
to find a new customer base.
In all reality, I hope that Dish Network continues this offending
practice. The more people they harass, the more people that will
never consider being a customer.
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COMMENTS FROM READERS
Yes, I am also one of the victims "supposed"
dish network telemarketers (and I am on DNC) are driving over
the edge. They refuse to take us off the list. Last night, the
caller from (1-800-701-8414) actually, gave us "sermon" about
how sometimes, God gives you a choice. And right the choice is
to buy "Dish Network" service. As others have indicated, the
callers are persistent pests and irritating to say the least.
They don't give much info but for "Jason from Dish Network, New
Jersey". Also we extracted the website from them some time ago:
http://www.mydishglobal.com.
I have contacted Dish Network- CEO to Echo-start CEO and their
legal department and have provided them websites as well as 800-
numbers. They claim the company has nothing to do with them.
Interesting, company is persistently selling Dish Network
service, Dish Network is making money and Dish has nothing to do
with it. They seem to be doing nothing about it. So yes, we need
to take it to court. As the writer said, it is the class action
suit waiting to happen.
The callers are using PAETEC communication VOIP lines but that
company also has refused to help unless we serve them legal
papers (I have their email telling me so). Here is the echo-star
contact I have been in conversations with:
Jennifer Schuyler
Executive Communications
Phone (720) 514-7750
Jennifer.Schuyler@echostar.com
-Piyanka
I have been pestered by Dish Network also and
have found a lawyer that will do something about it. I was
actually called a very foul name by one of the Dish Network
people when asked to be removed and it took 3 people for them to
finally remove me off of their in-house list; and did that stop
the calls, nope it did not!! So now I am going after this
company to let them know that they are not all powerful!!
-Shawnna
Over the past year and half we have received
almost daily sales calls from the Dish Network (Echostar
Communications Co) even though our home phone number has been
listed on the National Do Not Call Registry and the Texas DO Not
Call Registry for the past three years. We have told the Dish
Network caller repeatedly that they have violated the do not
call law. They seemed not to care at all. In fact they seemed to
be foreign based (in China) and didn’t even know such a thing as
a do not call list.
For the first year, we reported each incident to the National Do
Not Call Registry website. Nothing happened. We received no
feedback or inquiry from the National Do Not Call Registry. The
calls from the Dish Network kept on coming. In December of 2006,
we filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau of Denver
(BBB). Dish Network responded to this complaint. A woman from
the TCPA department of the Echostar LLC called me and requested
me to set up a sting operation to catch the caller. I agreed.
The woman gave me a fake SS# and a Visa card#. I did the sting
operation the next day on the new Dish Network caller. The Dish
Network person sent a letter to me and BBB informing us that
they did an investigation based upon the sting operation and was
able to identify the caller as someone from a company based in
Maryland called Total Marketing Solutions. In the letter Dish
Network promised that no more calls starting February, 2007.
Yet, right after this letter, the call kept on coming until
today. I called the woman in the Dish Network headquarters and
told her that there were new calls and I did additional sting
operations on the new callers. I asked her to investigate. She
never did. Apparently they did the investigation after the first
sting operation just to be able to send that letter to BBB to
close the case. Once the case was closed, they would do nothing
to investigate the new calls even though they promised in
writing of no new calls. After two months I couldn’t get any
response from the woman in the Dish Network who set up the sting
operation. I called another person in Dish Network whose name
appeared in the letter to me and BBB. I was told that the woman
I worked with had quit.
I filed complaint with the Texas Department of Consumer
Protection, the Colorado Department of Consumer Protection, the
FTC, and the FCC. None of they seemed to be able to do or did
anything to stop the Dish Network from violating the do not call
list.
In the middle of 2007, I had enough and filed a second BBB
complaint. Again, Dish Network responded to the complaint by
doing another trace on one of a dozen or more of the sting
operations I did. They reported the caller as one company based
in California in another letter to BBB and me. Again Dish
Network promised to stop the calls after July of 2007. Yet the
calls kept on coming.
I refused to close the second BBB complaint and insisted that
Dish Network explain what they had done and would do to these
law breakers and what measures they would take to make sure the
calls would stop. Dish Network ignored my requests. After a
while, the BBB closed the case and informed me that there was
nothing more they could do since BBB had no enforcement
authority.
It seems to me that the Do Not Call list has no teeth at all. A
company like Dish Network can simply ignore it and get away with
it with abandon. Recently, we are getting calls every evening
from Dish Network at 7:10 PM CST like clockwork. I am pretty
sure it is an automated calling setup that just cycling through
a phone list. I don’t know what I can do to stop them.
-mkland
I think that I have found a solution... SBC
(now AT & T) has a feature available with their caller ID/call
blocking services called "Privacy Manager." Basically, it does
not accept unidentified calls, requiring whoever is calling you
to either unblock their number or verbally say who they are. The
phone will not even ring at your end until the caller identifies
himself. Then, when it rings at your end, you have the option of
answering the call, rejecting the call, or playing an automated
message asking to be put on the company's do not call list. I
haven't heard from Dish Network in almost a year!
I'm sure other carriers have something similar.
-Tina
I called Satellite Sales to inquire about their
promotion on the DISH Network that came in a bulk mailer. After
that, I have received many calls and I too am on the DNC list!
My big mistake. If you ever call these "people," call from a
prepaid cell phone so you can trash the number!
-Ed
I am glad that I am not the only person who has
this problem. I have getting calls from Dish Network for the
better part of 3 years. I discontinued service in 2004, and I
got a call TODAY about why I cancelled my service. The last time
they called I informed them that if they contacted me again I
would sue them for harassment. That was a month ago. At that
time they had sent a bill to me addressed to my mother's house
(whom I do not live with, and never did when I had their
service), claiming that I had reconnected my service. I don't
even have a dish or receiver anymore!
And no matter how "nasty" I get with them about this situation,
they will never end this constant battle! There should be a
class action suit against them.
-Kelly
I would estimate 80-100 calls came in from this
supplier (Dish), over many years. I usually hang up quickly. But
in my mind I think, how can they be so brazen to think I would
use them for any business consideration, employing these
bullying tactics? If lightning hit every cable company in the
area and they (Dish) were the only people left, I would still
not hire them. I would go to radio with an antenna. Also, buy
DVDs too. Use my computer more. Take a nap.
Put that in your marketing research department, DISH. File it
under BOGUS business nincompoops. Hey bubby, I am working on a
Telephone RAY gun that will reverse Zap any marketer who is
unwanted and uninvited. ZZZZZSTTTTT! Like a bug zapper.
ZZZZZZZZSSSTTT!
-John
AUTHOR RESPONDS: Let me know when your Telephone Ray gun is available. I
will be your first customer!
Can you believe DN can get away with this? We
have been on the DNC list since its inception but yet I have
been harassed with phone calls for months, driving me to the
brink on insanity. My husband and I even came up with a game
called "Dish 'Em" where the goal is to keep the telemarketers on
the phone as long as you can to waste their time and prevent
them from calling someone else. It was fun for a while, but not
any more. After pleading with one caller to take me off their
list, he calls me back to call me a "[EXPLETIVE DELETED]
[EXPLETIVE DELETED]". It is truly harassment and I would love to
take part in any class action suit. By the way, I had no idea
there were so many guys named Bob with Indian accents living in
New Jersey. -Joey
I have also been bombarded by Dish Network
telemarketers despite being on DNC. Always people from India who
seem to call me around 4:30 PM EST, 2-3 times a week. I have a
few phone numbers of interest, if people are doing their own
"investigations" (I got these through persistence, by acting
interested in their product: "...but I'm busy-- can you give me
your ID number, supervisor number, and a number I can call you
back at?")
510-355-0457 gets you an Indian receptionist whose supervisor
claims their "big" Dish Network office is in Fremont, CA. This
phone number has several "supervisors":
Elvis, ID# D117
Dustin, ID# 112C
Allen, ID#114
(All with fake-American Indian accents.)
972-535-6454 gets you another group that pestered me. A
supervisor there is "Neil Parker".
Finally, today I got a call from Indian telemarketers with
various "fake American" names (Kevin Kross ID "MN4"), who
claimed to be from a Dish Network retailer "SATELLITE SALES".
They refused to give me their inbound number or even their
address (but they said "Jersey City"). They simply could NOT
prove they actually were with SatelliteSales.com. I called the
Satellitesales.com number and their supervisor said he knew of
no such employees.
Here are a couple direct lines to the Executive Resolutions
Office of Dish Network. These people are nice and appear to be
trying hard to stop the problem:
Don 720-514-7338, ID# 74N
Robert Scott 720-514-8641, ID# 2N4
Call these agents directly if you get a telemarketer call and
can get their callback number (and, ideally, supervisor name,
and ID numbers).
I'm up for a class-action lawsuit once it gets rolling. Let's
gather data like this and post it, share it. Please pressure the
Executive Resolution Office, AND file do-not-call violations on
the .gov website.
-Hoos
I too have been repeatedly harassed by Dish
Network. The last two phone calls I have told them that I was
flying on a plane over there to kick their [EXPLETIVE DELETED]
and my last phone call they hung up on me and I called them, I
questioned them on how big their butt was because I was going to
stick my foot up it and then they said they weren't going to
call anymore. Dish Network (USA) can't seem to get it stopped
either so now I go to my county and state attorney to see if
they can stop it. After threatening dish with the removal of my
system they gave me 3 months of HBO/Cinemax for my problems. But
I am not done. Thank god I am a cowboy fan because it will be
cowboys and Indians and we know who one that war. -Brian
I can't believe Dish Network gets away with
these calls. They even somehow use the numbers of other
companies when making the calls so you can't tell where they are
calling from. I am on the DNC registry and have requested
several times to be taken off their list. I am hung up on each
time. I too have contacted the corporate offices of Dish Network
and have been told they can do nothing about the calls... and
then THEY tried to sell me. I said, "are you kidding me??"
Never, never will we deal with DN and I will share my feelings
with many people.
-T
I have been getting similar calls from Dish
Network directly as well as their authorized re-sellers. And
every time I have asked them to not call or put me on their DNC
(I'm already on Federal & State DNC list). But it does not stop.
Just in the last 3-4 weeks, I counted at least 6 calls for Dish.
I have now started filing complaints with my state's Attorney
General's Office as well as FTC. I even tried to communicate
with the company's "Executive Resolution Team" (evidently there
is one at Dish!!!). But I got several calls since they said that
they will look into it. I think I'm at a point where I feel like
seeking legal help. Is anyone else interested to make this a
class action lawsuit?
-AB
I had the same experience as most of you for
almost last one and a half year. Worst- I'm already a DN
customer, yet they keep calling even after repeatedly telling
them that I'm already a customer and my phone number is in the
"Do Not Call" list. I'm now considering suing Dish Network for
this. I had never been involved in a lawsuit and don't know how
to get started. Any suggestion how to proceed?
-Ashraf
I have been harassed by DISH for months upon
months - I cannot attempt to estimate how long because it simply
has gone on so long. The interesting thing is it isn't only DISH
- but "hit and run" advertisers who call and then utilize my
caller ID for me to call them back and let me pay for the
advertisement. DISH is the worst, however, and continues
calling.
I got a little satisfaction today by choosing to talk to a rep,
listening to their explanation - asking questions - and then
saying "You know, I would have been interested in that actually
- but after calling me fifty times, I just want you to add me
permanently to your no call list". I doubt it'll work; I've
tried it again and again. Where do I get the number for their
corporate offices? I want to call them too and get this done
with. Every time they call, they wake up my 9 month old baby and
it takes him thirty minutes to get back down again.
-Patrick
I've witnessed the same disregard for our
telemarketing laws by DISH that you wrote about. I have
documented 12+ calls from DISH network over the last 4 months,
despite having no prior relationship with this company and being
on the DNC registry.
I chose to file a lawsuit against DISH under the TCPA and have
had 6 more calls in the 3 months since filing suit. The calls
keep coming. DISH claims no responsibility for the telemarketing
practices of its authorized dealers, but they benefit directly
from these harassing and unsolicited telemarketing calls.
DISH has a horrible record of violating telemarketing laws. Is
this as a class action suit waiting to happen or what? -J.
Finally, people with the same experiences! I
have been getting calls from Dish Network almost every day since
December, where it has gotten to the point where these Indians
are verbally harassing me. It got to the point where I did a
call trace through SBC/AT&T, but all it says is "unknown ID" so
it didn't help. I'm all for a class action. Let's get the ball
rolling! -Tina
Thanks for the great article. I have been
experiencing the exact same problem as you described. For the
last several months I've been harassed by telemarketers from
Dish Network who call me every day - sometimes 2 or 3 times a
day. They're always from India and I always ask them to put me
on their Do Not Call list but it doesn't seem to make a
difference.
After reading your article, I called Dish Network and spoke with
a manager who promised to put me on their Do Not Call list.
The sad part is that I was seriously considering getting Dish
Network service but I won't now because of their harassment. -Suhas
Any opinions or views
expressed herein belong solely to the author and does not represent
any employer, organization, political party, governmental agency, or
any other entity and do not necessarily reflect the views of the
site owner or its participants.
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