# History Channel Int - NOT on Dish HD Silver? Why is it listed on the site?



## Kricket (Nov 18, 2005)

hey everyone,

so i just upgraded to dish hd silver and im not getting history channel international although its listed on the site:

http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/...amming/pricingandpackages/silver/index.shtml#

and now that i look at it - its listed on the hd bronze pack too:

http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/...ramming/pricingandpackages/bronze/index.shtml

who knows - maybe its a typo - but shouldnt we be getting it if its advertised on the site?


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## Mikey (Oct 26, 2004)

That's an error. If you look at this page on E*'s website, you'll see it's only in HD Gold and Platinum, just as it is only in the AT180 and Everything packs.

http://www.dishnetwork.com/popups/programming/comparison/hd/index.asp


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## Kricket (Nov 18, 2005)

so its dish network's error - im wondering if anyone has called them on it - if its listed on their site as being included in the package, i think whoever got the package should be given that channel...

its just like if best buy were to print an incorrect price - if they dont issue a retraction, anyone who walks into the store should be able to get the product for that price (at least, thats how it was when i worked retail - we had to honor our own advertisements - unless we posted a sign or something alerting the customers to that error)...


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## Mikey (Oct 26, 2004)

Feel free. Let me know how that works out for 'ya. It's also listed on their site as NOT being included in that package.


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## Kricket (Nov 18, 2005)

Mikey said:


> Feel free. Let me know how that works out for 'ya. It's also listed on their site as NOT being included in that package.


well i called tech support just now (ive been trying to bypass first level cs because they really have no idea what theyre doing) and they did something that totally shocked me - they didnt try to backtrack or give me the run around at all - they just came out and told me that they flat out made a mistake :eek2:

now heres where i have mixed feelings - they told me that there was absolutely no way to add hist-i "a-la-carte" (which i kind of expected) but that i could upgrade to the gold pack because that has the channel

i then told them that i didnt really want to do that because as it stands, ive already raised my bill by about $25-30/month just to get the 622 and the mandatory upgrade to at least hd bronze (which i later upgraded again to hd silver - for hist-i, amongst other channels)

anyway - i asked if i would be able to get out of my 18-month commitment which i just agreed to on friday on the assumption that i would be getting hist-i (amongst others) - they flat out told me no - that this was a legally binding agreement - i then asked, "well, isnt it legally binding for you to provide a customer with a service which you advertise on the site if that customer pays for that service?" - he agreed to this idea and transferred me to the executive resolution team

the ert offered for me to either get out of the 18 month agreement (which was going to be my last resort - i love e*'s sat service - i just want the channels im told im supposed to get) - or they asked if i wanted dish gold for the same price as dish silver! BINGO!

for the first time in the last month (out of over 10 calls to dish csr's for various problems - each caused by a different csr) - they actually did the "right thing"

heres some background on the rest of my "upgrading to a 622 NIGHTMARE":

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=55574

i dont know whats going on over there at dish - but its not good...

EDIT - i suggest that if you want to get what you thought you were paying for - you do it soon - they couldnt stop thanking me for bringing this to their attention and all 3 of the reps i spoke to said they were going to forward this to their web design team to fix the problem asap - i informed them that hist-i shows up on ALL of the hd packs (not just incorrectly on the silver)

EDIT v.2 - fixed the incorrect link above


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## Mikey (Oct 26, 2004)

:bowdown:


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## Kricket (Nov 18, 2005)

havent been on the forums for a while and i recently "checked in" - i remembered this thread and decided to check to see if dish actually changed the website from the mistake they so heartily thanked me for noticing...

http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/...ramming/pricingandpackages/bronze/index.shtml

nope - looks like its gonna take them over 4 months to let people know history channel international isnt included on every hd package...


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## kmcnamara (Jan 30, 2004)

I'm surprised Dish did that for you. Anymore, any kind of seller will just say that they're not responsible for typos and be done with it. Glad you got a good deal.


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## Kricket (Nov 18, 2005)

kmcnamara said:


> I'm surprised Dish did that for you. Anymore, any kind of seller will just say that they're not responsible for typos and be done with it. Glad you got a good deal.


nah - legally they were obligated - especially since theyve been given notice of the "mistake" and havent taken any action WAY past a reasonable amount of time...


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## kmcnamara (Jan 30, 2004)

Kricket said:


> nah - legally they were obligated


Do you have a link that says they would be obligated in those circumstances? That type of thing happens all the time and the seller - typically a retailer - has the right to just claim it was a typo and not honor the price. If some idiot car dealer put an ad in the paper advertising a 2007 Hummer for $100, I don't believe they would have to sell the vehicle for that price.


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## Kricket (Nov 18, 2005)

kmcnamara said:


> Do you have a link that says they would be obligated in those circumstances? That type of thing happens all the time and the seller - typically a retailer - has the right to just claim it was a typo and not honor the price. If some idiot car dealer put an ad in the paper advertising a 2007 Hummer for $100, I don't believe they would have to sell the vehicle for that price.


its BASIC contract law (stuff you learn in your first year of law school) - its not that this was a "mistake" and they tried to fix it - theyve had FOUR MONTHS to fix the "typo" on the website and they havent

any judge would say that was unreasonable

common sense really

EDIT - and before people start saying "well, it didnt say it in the actual contract" - contract law also has something called "parol evidence" - basically, you look to EVERYTHING that was promised by the contracting parties - if something has been on a corporations website for FOUR MONTHS AFTER that corporation has been given notice - they WILL be held liable for providing that "offer"

people reasonably rely on a corporations website - ESPECIALLY one that advertises what IS and IS NOT included in a service for which you are contracting/paying for

does no one see anything wrong with this? this thread is almost FOUR months old and the problem is STILL on the website LONG AFTER dish was given NOTICE of the problem?


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## kmcnamara (Jan 30, 2004)

Kricket said:


> its BASIC contract law (stuff you learn in your first year of law school) - its not that this was a "mistake" and they tried to fix it - theyve had FOUR MONTHS to fix the "typo" on the website and they havent
> 
> any judge would say that was unreasonable
> 
> ...


I definately see it as wrong that they haven't fixed it. No excuse for it really. You could certainly argue that they owe people something now that it's been a problem for 4 months but at the time you wrote the thread there's no way of knowing how long it had been that way so I'm not sure what you've said applies. In any case I am glad you got the deal you did.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

I would agree with both sides... At the time of the original post, Dish was likely not obligated (except that they just wanted to keep a customer and earn some good PR) to honor a mistake on their Website.

But, after a reasonable time (and several months is way past reasonable) I believe they lose the claim to "it is a typo" if it came to a court battle. As long as it could be proven that Dish knew of the "mistake" months ago, and did nothing to correct the mistake in the meantime... then I believe that *could* make them now legally bound to honor the offer.

Not worth pursuing myself, but I'm sure it is worth it to others.


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## LtMunst (Aug 24, 2005)

I think a legal argument can be made that Dish would have to allow someone to break the agreement without penalty shortly after subscribing due to the mistake. I doubt Dish would be legally required to give them the channel free since all channel lineups have always been subject to change.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

LtMunst said:


> I think a legal argument can be made that Dish would have to allow someone to break the agreement without penalty shortly after subscribing due to the mistake. I doubt Dish would be legally required to give them the channel free since all channel lineups have always been subject to change.


Agreed. I didn't go that far in details. It would give a customer legal rights to exit the contract early without penalty due to the error... but unless Dish wanted to make other alternatives like for the poster in this thread, they would not be obligated to do so.


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## tnsprin (Mar 16, 2003)

Kricket said:


> havent been on the forums for a while and i recently "checked in" - i remembered this thread and decided to check to see if dish actually changed the website from the mistake they so heartily thanked me for noticing...
> 
> http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/...ramming/pricingandpackages/bronze/index.shtml
> 
> nope - looks like its gonna take them over 4 months to let people know history channel international isnt included on every hd package...


Looks like they did remove it from the silver list, but still show it on the bronze list.


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## micklewhite (Jul 22, 2006)

tnsprin said:


> Looks like they did remove it from the silver list, but still show it on the bronze list.


Not HD anyway. If you pay for a metal package, you ought to get every generic SD available. The only differences in the packages should be at the HD level. More Charlie sleight of hand.


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## tnsprin (Mar 16, 2003)

micklewhite said:


> Not HD anyway. If you pay for a metal package, you ought to get every generic SD available. The only differences in the packages should be at the HD level. More Charlie sleight of hand.


Not sure what you are saying. The various metal packages correspond to the main SD packages and the SD content is what is in those packages.


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## micklewhite (Jul 22, 2006)

tnsprin said:


> Not sure what you are saying. The various metal packages correspond to the main SD packages and the SD content is what is in those packages.


That's my point. The HD content change is minimal, from Bronze to Silver there is none, from Silver to Gold only National Geographic HD Channel. Anybody who is interested in HD would assume that a change from one level to the next would involve a significant HD content change. The E* system could be achieved by one or two HD add-on packages. But that is too understandable and obvious. I think it is clear that Charlie is trying bamboozle the unwitting. He never learns. E* has a knack for complicated packages and upgrade paths. I don't think it is accidental. I used to admire Charlie for his pioneering spirit and always gave him the benefit of the doubt. After the distant networks fiasco, it is pretty clear that he is dishonest and manipulative. I'm sorry to have to say that and hope he changes direction. With his talents he could be a folk hero but he has taken a different path.


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## tnsprin (Mar 16, 2003)

micklewhite said:


> That's my point. The HD content change is minimal, from Bronze to Silver there is none, from Silver to Gold only National Geographic HD Channel. Anybody who is interested in HD would assume that a change from one level to the next would involve a significant HD content change. The E* system could be achieved by one or two HD add-on packages. But that is too understandable and obvious. I think it is clear that Charlie is trying bamboozle the unwitting. He never learns. E* has a knack for complicated packages and upgrade paths. I don't think it is accidental. I used to admire Charlie for his pioneering spirit and always gave him the benefit of the doubt. After the distant networks fiasco, it is pretty clear that he is dishonest and manipulative. I'm sorry to have to say that and hope he changes direction. With his talents he could be a folk hero but he has taken a different path.


From silver to gold adds one HD channel.
From gold to platinum three more HD channels are added.

However I don't think anyone at DISH ever implied that these different package were increasing in price because of added HD contant. It was pretty clear that they just added HD for $20 to $15 to the SD packages.

Prior to this you added some HD channels for $10 dollars or with Voom for $10+5.


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## micklewhite (Jul 22, 2006)

Well, perhaps I am just dense. When I first saw the bronze-silver-gold-platinum levels, I instinctively thought there was a substantial increase in the HD content of the packages. Otherwise what is the point of establishing a separate tiering system? It's like a butcher having metal packages for choice steak but primarily increasing the amount of hamburger you get. If you don't think this is designed to deceive then you are a kinder person than I am. But I will leave it to the assembled throng. Was the metal structure designed to mislead the consumer or not?



tnsprin said:


> From silver to gold adds one HD channel.
> From gold to platinum three more HD channels are added.
> 
> However I don't think anyone at DISH ever implied that these different package were increasing in price because of added HD contant. It was pretty clear that they just added HD for $20 to $15 to the SD packages.
> ...


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## Laverne (Feb 17, 2005)

micklewhite said:


> Was the metal structure designed to mislead the consumer or not?


I vote NOT.

It sounds like you have been with E* for quite some time, so you're surely familiar with the "AT" packages. As tnsprin said, previously if you wanted to upgrade to have the HD channels (of which there were not that many) you would just tack the $10 HD Pak on to an AT package and obtain an appropriate receiver to be able to watch those channels in HD. The way it is now, you just obtain one of the new mpeg4 receivers and upgrade to a metal package that corresponds with the AT package you had. Unless you want MORE or LESS SD channels, which are still the staple of the sat/cable industry.

The HD channels are just the icing that you pay extra for, $20 now with the new metals. So what used to be $10 for ~6 channels, is now $20 for ~25 channels, a bargain really.  And now they're even in mpeg4, an added bonus! 

Thanks, Charlie! :grin:

:goodjob: Have some Kool-Aid! :lol:


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