Full time with DirectTV

[rklyon]

I just spent an hour going in circles with DirectTV representatives trying to explain that I am going full time and will not have a home with a dish. I don't know if it was the language barrier or just ignorance but I am not sure what is going to happen to my satellite service. Does anyone have a clue of how I can contact the right people at direct tv to resolve this issue?

[2oldman]

Sandia Man wrote:
We just purchased the same antenna we had at home from an online source, used a homemade stand or tripod we purchased, taking less than 10 minutes to have all the same channels we have at home, out of the spotbeam we lost local channels.

I can usually set up my tripod dish in a few minutes, but there are times it can take much longer. The problem is the dish pointing data I get from the receiver.

For instance, using my current zip code, Azimuth= 139, elev = 46. If I use lat/long, I get Az=158 elev= 48. Further, if I go online to the DTV pointer and use zip code, I get 142.7 and 47.3. As you can see, that's a significant difference, and adds a lot of time to aiming the dish. It's not so much the azimuth that's the problem, it's the elevation that is more sensitive.

In the area I'm in now, the zip code on the receiver turned out to be correct.

The beeps are also handy, but they don't always work. I use a swift hitch camera aimed at the tv screen.

[CA_Traveler]

Also with the newer Genies you cannot have any additional receivers on the account. Probably for the same reason as above.

To be clear: Genies have one and only one receiver. Genie clients are not receivers and are 100% dependent on the Genie receiver.

[CA_Traveler]

DTV Tell the computer you want technical support and when you get the computer technical support again tell it you want technical support to get a person.

Tell the technical support person you want to change the service address and not the billing address.

"If you currently have service with Directv, you can eliminate or add receivers as needed, no real need to tell them that you are not at home anymore."

Above ONLY IF you remain in the same spot beam and the same locals. If you want locals for your new location you have to change the service address. If you are out of the spot beam and want locals you have to change the service address.

If they ask I just say I'm in a RV at a new location.

To be clear. When you change locals ALL receivers will be changed. ie You cannot have one set of locals for home and another for the the RV unless you have 2 accounts. To many people loaned receivers to friends and family...

[Sandia_Man]

We have had both Directv and Dish over the last couple of decades, they don't know if you are obtaining your satellite signal from their antenna mounted on your home, or in the middle of nowhere when you are in your RV. With Directv we just used a bedroom receiver that we brought along while RVing. With Dish we purchased VIP receivers and added them to our account avoiding the hassle of bringing receivers from home.

With Directv we have always set up our own satellite antenna upon arriving to our destination, we want full HD and the automated domes just don't have the ability to provide Directv in HD. We just purchased the same antenna we had at home from an online source, used a homemade stand or tripod we purchased, taking less than 10 minutes to have all the same channels we have at home, out of the spotbeam we lost local channels.

If you currently have service with Directv, you can eliminate or add receivers as needed, no real need to tell them that you are not at home anymore. Address is primarily for billing and spotbeam purposes, you can just have the receivers in your RV activated and pay your bill automatically online. We are currently with Dish and using MyDish.com and their RV outdoors page, we can have locals from home or wherever we happen to be.

[2oldman]

bdpreece wrote:
Directv/AT&T has the worst customer service in the world!!v.

It's pretty bad when you have to keep calling back because you can't get good service the first time. They're sales people.. they're always trying to sell you a service call for the simplest problem - but they don't service RVs.

I got fed up with trying to change locals so I gave them a Los Angeles service address which works all over the place. As it turns out, I rarely ever watch local TV except for Jeopardy and SNL.

[bdpreece]

Directv/AT&T has the worst customer service in the world!! After they shut off the distant network service we tried to just change service address like everyone says. I kept track; talked to 16 different people (non of whom I could really understand)and finally ended up with a new receiver and a new dish. Now we have a receiver that is not compatible with our RV dish antenna. Wishing you lots of luck dealing with Directv.

[BarbaraOK]

I always start the phone call by asking for a supervisor and explaining that what I need is different from their routine customers and there is no need for me to waste their time, especially if I am going to be 'yelling at someone' before I get finished. Person always happy to get a supervisor on the line, and a couple of times I have had to ask for their supervisor.

Lately I've been having good success at using Twitter when I run into a roadblock with a company - something about blasting out a generalized complaint all across the world (as in "Why does XYZ Company treat customers so badly" etc) will get a lot of retweets and a DM from the company giving me a specific phone number of call and someone who will talk to me.

[CA_Traveler]

stickdog wrote:
Did the original 'service person' speak and understand English?

Doesn't really matter as the subject is above their pay grade including even knowing where to redirect for help.

[stickdog]

rklyon wrote:
I called again and asked for a supervisor. The seemed to finally understand what was going on. They had to cancel the order to install a dish at the address of my mail-forwarding service. Unbelievable.

Did the original 'service person' speak and understand English?

[rhagfo]

CA Traveler wrote:
AFAIK All recent (many years) DTV equipment is leased. If you "buy" you're just paying them to deliver it and it's still owned by DTV per their contract.

Also AFAIK DTV does not install in RV's and if they do I would not allow them as they have little understanding of they type of installation. Maybe they will refer you to an independent company but best in my opinion to hire a known compentent company to do the install.

So lost on this post!
Dish, buy a dish that is compatible with the Dish service. Then buy a receiver also compatible with dish.
Call dish and set up an RV account, you pay by the month ahead of time and if you get somewhere you can't get a signal do to trees or hills, call and CANCEL your service. You own your equipment, no return, when back in an area where you can get signal call and restart your service.

[2oldman]

rklyon wrote:
Can't figure out how to delete this post

Nobody can delete posts except a moderator.

[CA_Traveler]

AFAIK All recent (many years) DTV equipment is leased. If you "buy" you're just paying them to deliver it and it's still owned by DTV per their contract.

Also AFAIK DTV does not install in RV's and if they do I would not allow them as they have little understanding of they type of installation. Maybe they will refer you to an independent company but best in my opinion to hire a known compentent company to do the install.

[rklyon]

Can't figure out how to delete this post

[2oldman]

Can't you buy the equipment yourself, then just call them to activate the card at a particular address? Afaik they do not do RV 'installations'.

[CA_Traveler]

When you want to change the service address keep asking for technical support until you get a real person. Otherwise all they know is the text in front of them.