# DirectTV service thru ATT?



## todd1010 (Dec 27, 2008)

My wife and I received a letter about ATT's satellite service, internet, phone and cellular. I called them up and was curious about it and she said the TV service is satellite thru DirectTV. 

How does this compare with going directly thru DirectTV?

The prices seemed a little better and she said that if I wanted to HD-DVR boxes it would cost me $50. If I would go thru DirectTV then it cost me $199 for the 2nd HD-DVR box. What kind of tuner box does ATT send you?

Any information on this service?


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## curt8403 (Dec 27, 2007)

todd1010 said:


> My wife and I received a letter about ATT's satellite service, internet, phone and cellular. I called them up and was curious about it and she said the TV service is satellite thru DirectTV.
> 
> How does this compare with going directly thru DirectTV?
> 
> ...


it is the exact same service as directly throught directv it starts in Feb. it is called bundling, which means that the bill for directv goes through AT&T and you get a discount from them.
nothing more


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## todd1010 (Dec 27, 2008)

curt8403 said:


> it is the exact same service as directly throught directv it starts in Feb. it is called bundling, which means that the bill for directv goes through AT&T and you get a discount from them.
> nothing more


I may have been wrong in my intial post. I believe she said it was Dish Network because she mentioned Turbo HD.


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## curt8403 (Dec 27, 2007)

todd1010 said:


> I may have been wrong in my intial post. I believe she said it was Dish Network because she mentioned Turbo HD.


right now it is dish, in Feb it will change to directv.

go figure. AT&T thinks they are a big fish


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## Piratefan98 (Mar 11, 2008)

curt8403 said:


> AT&T thinks they are a big fish


I hope that fish makes a run at purchasing DirecTV (as has been rumored in some circles). New management would be a very welcome thing, IMHO.

Jeff


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## curt8403 (Dec 27, 2007)

Piratefan98 said:


> I hope that fish makes a run at purchasing DirecTV (as has been rumored in some circles). New management would be a very welcome thing, IMHO.
> 
> Jeff


that will NEVER NEVER happen. AT&T has UVERSE in some areas. Buying Directv would be counterproductive and also a conflict.


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## todd1010 (Dec 27, 2008)

curt8403 said:


> right now it is dish, in Feb it will change to directv.
> 
> go figure. AT&T thinks they are a big fish


So in Feb. I'll be able to get DirectTV with ATT instead of Dish Network? Maybe I should wait?


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## Piratefan98 (Mar 11, 2008)

curt8403 said:


> that will NEVER NEVER happen. AT&T has UVERSE in some areas. Buying Directv would be counterproductive and also a conflict.


Could be. I don't start the rumors .... I just report em 

Having said that, if WSJ reports tomorrow that Chuck E. Cheese Corp is in talks to purchase DirecTV, I'd be excited at that idea too.

Jeff


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## photostudent (Nov 8, 2007)

I got the DSL/Landline phone bundle from ATT last fall and it has been a nightmare. The first bill was double what had been quoted, $139 vs $65). The ATT CR said their marketing people were contractors that could only take orders and not quote rates. I finally got an adjustment but am still paying more than before I got the bundle. They said if I cancelled I would be charged $150 for the modem, (which I never agreed to buy). I have been with DirecTV for over 10 years with never a issue that was not quickly resolved. My advice is to deal directly with D*.


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## onan38 (Jul 17, 2008)

I have had the AT&T bundle with directv for several years before AT&T switched from Directv to Dish like curt8403 said they are switching back in Feb 09. I still get a $5 discount on my AT&T bill every month. I have home phone with all the calling features (caller id, call waiting three way calling ect...) ,dsl extreme speed.Family wireless plan 2 phones 700 anytime mins nationwide calling, free nights and weekends,rollover mins. I pay $162 to $163 a month.If i split it up and go with local cable company (Insight) on home phone and internet it will cost me $28 more per month.Where i live for internet i only have 2 options.I have even called AT&T about getting rid of my landline home phone but that would screw my bundle price up and only save me $20 or so dollars a month.


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## JoeTheDragon (Jul 21, 2008)

curt8403 said:


> that will NEVER NEVER happen. AT&T has UVERSE in some areas. Buying Directv would be counterproductive and also a conflict.


U-verse has that small 2 hd limit Direct tv does not.


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## narrod (Jul 26, 2007)

curt8403 said:


> right now it is dish, in Feb it will change to directv.
> 
> go figure. AT&T thinks they are a big fish


They are a big fish. DirecTv and Dish are dwarfed by them in sales, revenue and profits. DirecTv would be one of the cheapest acquistions they ever made.


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## onan38 (Jul 17, 2008)

narrod said:


> They are a big fish. DirecTv and Dish are dwarfed by them in sales, revenue and profits. DirecTv would be one of the cheapest acquistions they ever made.


I agree 100% with the money AT&T is spending on u-verse (which may not be a bad thing in different markets.) and the ability for them to bring it to rural places and places that people have trouble getting Directv. I think Directv would be a great and cheap buy for them with the addition of U-verse.


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## RobertE (Jun 10, 2006)

One thing that you can bet on with "bundling" services is that your bill will be jacked for a good amount of time.


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## RayChuang1654 (Mar 2, 2006)

Now that Comcast wants over US$60 per month for the Extended Basic service, :eek2: I wonder since I am an AT&T landline user should I seriously consider switching to DirecTV once the bundling deal with AT&T starts in February 2009. Maybe I can get a good deal on two receivers (one with DVR capability) and their _Choice Plus_ package.


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## Inches (Jan 5, 2005)

I'm gonna wait to see whats offered since I already use AT&T and DirecTV. Of course the best deals will be made to new customers, existing always seem to be forgotten about.


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## curt8403 (Dec 27, 2007)

RobertE said:


> One thing that you can bet on with "bundling" services is that your bill will be jacked for a good amount of time.


Jacked? please explain what you mean. most customers who go the bundling route do not get "Jacked"


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## rudeney (May 28, 2007)

photostudent said:


> I got the DSL/Landline phone bundle from ATT last fall and it has been a nightmare. The first bill was double what had been quoted, $139 vs $65). The ATT CR said their marketing people were contractors that could only take orders and not quote rates. I finally got an adjustment but am still paying more than before I got the bundle. They said if I cancelled I would be charged $150 for the modem, (which I never agreed to buy). I have been with DirecTV for over 10 years with never a issue that was not quickly resolved. My advice is to deal directly with D*.


Yeah, same here. I was in the AT&T wireless store one day looking at phones (I'm with Verizon but was considering switching providers). There was an AT&T landline rep there asking people if they wanted to take a short survey to save money on their phone bills. I did and and he promised me $200 to switch my ISP from Earthlink to DSL to AT&T DSL with faster speeds, plus it would be $10/mo cheaper, plus I'd save another $10/mo on my phone bill by bundling in AT&T LD service. Well, after all was said and done, the rebate was only for those switching from cable ISP's, and my total monthly outlaw is $5/mo more, but I can live with that because they did get me faster speed DSL (which Earthlink said I could not get in my area).

Oh, and AT&T's customer service is terrible! Their CSR's are rude and completely clueless. Plus, no matter how long you spend on the phone and no matter what the issue, you will spend another 10 minutes getting sales pitches for other services! I'll take D*'s customer service any day over AT&T!


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## JLucPicard (Apr 27, 2004)

curt8403 said:


> Jacked? please explain what you mean. most customers who go the bundling route do not get "Jacked"


What I took it to mean was that the billing would be screwed up (jacked up). And that's one of the reasons, though I have Qwest landline, that I don't want to bundle my DirecTV bill with them.

Not 'jacked' in the sense of prices getting jacked up (raised) or something like that.


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## mdavej (Jan 31, 2007)

FWIW, I've had the bellsouth/Directv bundle for a couple of years now. Since bellsouth was formerly AT&T and is now AT&T again, I would imagine the upcoming bundle will work about the same. Depending on the services you get, expect $5-$15 savings by bundling. I get $5 off my directv bill and $10 off my phone bill every month with the bundle. Back when I signed up, I already had directv, and later ordered the bundle from bellsouth/at&t. I just had to give them my directv account number to start seeing credits on my directv bill.


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## toy4two (Aug 18, 2006)

curt8403 said:


> that will NEVER NEVER happen. AT&T has UVERSE in some areas. Buying Directv would be counterproductive and also a conflict.


I subscribe to U-Verse in my apt complex and in the mail I got a card from ATT that said "Your building is already wired for Directv, sign up now!" I was a little surprised they would be sending this to a UVerse subscriber, but they did.


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## curt8403 (Dec 27, 2007)

JLucPicard said:


> What I took it to mean was that the billing would be screwed up (jacked up). And that's one of the reasons, though I have Qwest landline, that I don't want to bundle my DirecTV bill with them.
> 
> Not 'jacked' in the sense of prices getting jacked up (raised) or something like that.


well, most customers do not understand how integrated billing works, and so since they do not know how things work, they do things they are not supposed to, and since they do they in essence Jack themselves.


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## RobertE (Jun 10, 2006)

curt8403 said:


> Jacked? please explain what you mean. most customers who go the bundling route do not get "Jacked"


Jacked up, as in wrong, screwed up, hosed, fubar'd, frakked, etc.


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## curt8403 (Dec 27, 2007)

RobertE said:


> Jacked up, as in wrong, screwed up, hosed, fubar'd, frakked, etc.


Ok, and i think that most of the time it is this guy's fault


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## joshjr (Aug 2, 2008)

I wonder if AT&T will allow customers in areas that U-Verse is available to sign up for D*. That should be interesting.


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## BattleZone (Nov 13, 2007)

joshjr said:


> I wonder if AT&T will allow customers in areas that U-Verse is available to sign up for D*. That should be interesting.


The answer is NO.

Currently, if you live in an area where AT&T offers Uverse, your bundled TV is Uverse. If Uverse isn't available, you get Dish (until Jan 31, 2009, after which you'd get DirecTV).

I can say this: more than half of the AT&T-sourced Dish work orders I've gotten over the last 18 months have been wrong. Wrong dish, wrong receivers, and wrong programming. I always pre-call these customers and try to get the work order changed before going, because they are so bad so often. So, if you decide to bundle, you're best off if you know EXACTLY what equipment you want (2 HD-DVRs, 1 HD receiver, 3 SD receivers, etc.) and what package you want, by name. If you let the CSR try to interpret for you, your first tech visit isn't likely to go well.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

Does anyone know, will the additional savings from bundling be in addition to any new customer offers that ATT and/or Directv are offering when you sign up? Like the 1 year discounted rates Directv has going till march 3rd. Will that be what you can get, plus a bundling discount?


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## BattleZone (Nov 13, 2007)

Yes, new customers are eligable for all normal DirecTV promtions that they could get if they got DirecTV directly. They also get a (small) bundling discount on top of that, in trade for having to deal with AT&T for any DirecTV issues. That's fine as long as you never have a billing or installation problem. But if that happens, trying to resolve a DirecTV issue through AT&T is like two English-only speakers trying to relate driving directions through a French-speaking intermediary. AT&T doesn't speak DirecTV's language, so problems have a tendency to go round and round.

IMO, bundling is fine for multiple services from the same company, but I'd never bundle anything from two different companies.


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## IcedOmega13 (Mar 3, 2008)

I always say its easier to pay 2 $40 dollar bills than one 1 $80 bill. forget to pay and they both get whacked. maybe im just forgetful lol


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## bjdotson (Feb 20, 2007)

Piratefan98 said:


> Could be. I don't start the rumors .... I just report em
> 
> Having said that, if WSJ reports tomorrow that Chuck E. Cheese Corp is in talks to purchase DirecTV, I'd be excited at that idea too.
> 
> Jeff


I can just see it now. "give me a free meat pizza or I leave and go to dish."
On the other hand maybe you could push a button on your remote and automatically have a pizza delivered.


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## dodge boy (Mar 31, 2006)

I wonder since I have AT&T phone and DSL, if I could put my D* through them and keep my Total Choice Plus package.... I do not want to loose that and go to their new packages.


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