As far as the pay as you go, since I own my receiver, I can call in and de-activate the account and re-activate to turn it back on. The key is to say de-activate and not suspend. I use dish during the summer months only. I will be re-activating on May 1st and then use the service until Oct 1 when I de-activate while the MH is in storage for the winter. Never had a problem with dish. No monthly $5 fee for suspending. I use this method because I have Comcast at home and only have satellite in the MH