Cable Company (rant)

[Big T]

It is bad enough I have too be laid up with recovering from back surgery, now my freaking cablel is out. My wife calls the cable company and they say that it will be tommorrow before they can come look at it. I call them a second time and give them a piece of my mind, not that helped. This crap happens all the time, I think I am going to go with Direct TV and be done with cable. Sorry to be so negative, but I woke up in a bad mood this morning., Thanks for listening.

T

[ejtaylor822]

Sorry, man.  Have you got TWC done there?

I had DirectTV when we first moved in here.  They brought cable in when enough of us commited to getting it and I wanted HD and DVR.  At the time you had to PAY close to a grand for HD and DVR on DirectTV.

[Yakfish]

Hope your recovery is quick. We switched to Dish a couple years ago after years of frustration with cable. When I called them to cancel they told me how unreliable and overpriced satellite was blah, blah, blah and I basically told them to go screw. In more than two years we've lost the signal for maybe a total of an hour. We've lost service more times for power outages than because of their equipment. We've got two DVR's (greatest invention ever) get 200 channels and pay LESS than we would be paying a cable company for one DVR and less than half the number of channels.

[Big T]

Sorry, man. Have you got TWC done there?

I had DirectTV when we first moved in here. They brought cable in when enough of us commited to getting it and I wanted HD and DVR. At the time you had to PAY close to a grand for HD and DVR on DirectTV.

Eddie,

I didn't want to call them out, but TWC is who I am talking about. My cable goes out a least once a month. I am seriously looking into Direct TV, I can get the same package that I have now for about the same price.  Actually Direct TV is $5 dollars cheaper. The I do not have to worry about wether or not someone on my block cuts a wire or they just los e signal. My dad has Direct, he said that he rarely loses signals, due to storms. Even after a hurricane he got his signal back as soon as the storm passed and he lives at Carolina Beach.

[Fisher of Men]

Big T-  We've had Direct TV for around 7 years now.  In that time, we've probably only been without for a total of 30 minutes or so.  I'll lose a signal when some very heavy rain is heading our way from the south, but it is restored within five minutes or so.  I used to lose cable for over 30 minutes a month (more than that if you count individual channels).  My only gripe about Direct TV now is that they are increasing their costs, but the service has always been reliable.

I don't want to jack the thread, so I'm PM'ing you about your surgery.

[Big T]

OK thanks guys, I just ordered Direct TV . I got a year free showtime and more channels than I had with cable and it is $10 a month cheaper. Also they are going to install it tommorrow. The cable company wasn't even going tocome look a my hookup until tommorow. I guess they can forget that service call.

Fisher of Men, I am getting ready to check my PM. I will send you a message back.

Big T

[BUCKEYEone]

Big T-

  I ranted about cable a couple months back on here, I have Charter, who does not even have DVR in our area and I'm still paying more with them than I was with two DVRs with TWC.  We are switching to DirecTV ASAP also, you'll have to let me know which channels to make sure to DVR my fishing shows!  Hope you enjoy it!

[Big T]

Buckeyeone,

Charter Cable is the company that provides service to the Southern part of New Hanover Co, which includes Carolina Beach. I would call Direct TV, because the guy offered me somthing that I wanted and it was cheaper than the online special they were running. I will Pm you with Channnel Lineup. I did not get DVR, but it was not that much more. I just got sick of TWC's excuses and crap about my service going out.

Big T

[huskertko]

Hope your recovery is quick. We switched to Dish a couple years ago after years of frustration with cable. When I called them to cancel they told me how unreliable and overpriced satellite was blah, blah, blah and I basically told them to go screw. In more than two years we've lost the signal for maybe a total of an hour. We've lost service more times for power outages than because of their equipment. We've got two DVR's (greatest invention ever) get 200 channels and pay LESS than we would be paying a cable company for one DVR and less than half the number of channels.

We use to use cable and it was a necessary evil.  We were told that the trees in our yard eliminated the possiblity of Dish or Direct TV, so we dealt with the expensive cable.  We eventually cut down a few trees, due to damage and disease, so we got Dish network, and I have to say I can't wait until it is gone (tomorrow).  Everyone says that they rarely lose signal, but we lose signal when the weather person just mentions a chance of rain.  We have had Dish now for about 6 months and have lost signal for several hours too many times to count and for more than a day at least 3 times, and Dish's tech supports only answer is that "well clouds and rain can affect the signal strength and we can't control the weather."

Long story short we are ditching Dish and going to ATT Uverse tomorrow.  We are going to get 300 channels, compared to 250, 4 tuners, one with DVR capable of recording 4 different shows at the same time, HD and local channels for less that we are paying for Dish.

BTW, 250 channels is way more than we ever watch, but I have to get the 300 channel package just to get the 10 or so channels that I actually watch and the movie channels my wife watches.

[FishTank]

I hate cable with a passion...  We have Comcast here in Indianapolis.  

Here is my story from years ago........

I was working nights and I get this knock on door while I was asleep.  There stands a guy from Comcast telling me they're here to install my new digital cable.  I told him that I did not want it.  He said that they were just installing the cable and it was for everyone in my neighboorhood.  He said that I had signed for them to do the work.  He then showed me my forged signature, a long with all my neighboors.  

I called Comcast and I was told that they had a legal right to be there and the work would continue.  I then called the Police (they never showed).  While I was waiting I fell back asleep.  When I woke, Comcast had used a backhow to destroy my yard so they could put the cable in the ground.  They didn't fill the 3 foot deep trench in my yard.  They also destroyed my neighboors privacy fence.  Then they left a notice on my door step that the work was complete, enjoy your new cable.

My neighboor ended up sueing them and won.  It took over a year for them to come out and fill the trench and fix her fence.  The bad part was that I was forced to use their new cable system.  It started out at $34.99 for basic service but doubled in price 6 months later with out notice.  We later had some trees cut back so we could have a satalite dish installed.  

On a side note, when I went to return the Digital cable box to Comcast, they wanted to charge me $400 for the box because I had broken it (I never used it).  I refused to pay and wanted to see a manager.  As I was waiting, I noticed that they told everyone in line the same thing.  Everybody owed them $400.  Luckilly I had the paper work from my neighboors law suit.  I showed it to the manager and I asked if I should try and sue them again.  I walked out mad but I didn't have to pay the $400.  I will never use cable.

[Yakfish]

Hope your recovery is quick. We switched to Dish a couple years ago after years of frustration with cable. When I called them to cancel they told me how unreliable and overpriced satellite was blah, blah, blah and I basically told them to go screw. In more than two years we've lost the signal for maybe a total of an hour. We've lost service more times for power outages than because of their equipment. We've got two DVR's (greatest invention ever) get 200 channels and pay LESS than we would be paying a cable company for one DVR and less than half the number of channels.

We use to use cable and it was a necessary evil. We were told that the trees in our yard eliminated the possiblity of Dish or Direct TV, so we dealt with the expensive cable. We eventually cut down a few trees, due to damage and disease, so we got Dish network, and I have to say I can't wait until it is gone (tomorrow). Everyone says that they rarely lose signal, but we lose signal when the weather person just mentions a chance of rain. We have had Dish now for about 6 months and have lost signal for several hours too many times to count and for more than a day at least 3 times, and Dish's tech supports only answer is that "well clouds and rain can affect the signal strength and we can't control the weather."

Long story short we are ditching Dish and going to ATT Uverse tomorrow. We are going to get 300 channels, compared to 250, 4 tuners, one with DVR capable of recording 4 different shows at the same time, HD and local channels for less that we are paying for Dish.

BTW, 250 channels is way more than we ever watch, but I have to get the 300 channel package just to get the 10 or so channels that I actually watch and the movie channels my wife watches.

Hmmm, I guess we've been lucky...say it quietly so the weatherman doesn't hear...

[bocabasser]

direct tv is the way to go. here is a little tip: when ordering a movie from pay-per-view, order on-line because all of your tv's will show the movie.

[Big T]

Well,

Direct TV came and hooked up my setup this afternoon, and TWC finally shoed up to reattach the wire out at the street that had evidently blow down sometime yesterday morning between 2:00 am and 6:00 am. It only layed in the guy across the streets yard for a day in a half. >

Big T

[burleytog]

I dumped cable (was Adelphia, now Comcast) over a year ago and couldn't be happier with Dish Network.

I may be paying more for my TV + internet, but at least I'm getting what I want.