Just out of curiosity, how old is your DSR500?

Just out of curiosity, how old is your DSR500?

I got it during the Boxing Week sale in 04. It had run fine (with the occasional reboot for a frozen screen) until 2 weeks ago. None of the SC techs on duty had seen this particular problem before.

Normally problems like this show up from the getgo.

I was just wondering if it was still covered under the 1 year warranty or if they're starting to "stretch" out the warranty or start to cover it under the MRC plan.

Apperently not.

It's been a while since I've ventured into the world of Starchoice customer service. (probably 4 years).

On December 1st I started having a pixelation problem on an original DSR411 DNA. I called the CS dept at 7:00 AM PDT. I didn't have to wait long at all and with a very methodical process we quickly determined that the receiver was at fault.
They said they would ship out a replacement unit (I have the top tier subscription which includes the lifetime warranty).

I received the new unit on December 8th and set everything up.

This is where the WOW comes in. I called the CS dept and discovered I had a longer wait (7 to 10 minutes) Starchoice uses this call back feature that queues you in line. This is awesome, maybe I find it so awesome because I have, on numerous occasions, spent long periods (10 to 30 minutes) on a phone waiting for the next available CSR.

It's bad enough we have to suffer through endless "Press # for this, blah blah blah from a recorded voice we have to wait on hold for eons to speak to a live person.

Starchoice is head and shoulders above other companies who claim to have a good customer service department.

Back to the story.............I followed the instruction to use the call back feature and hung up the phone and went about my normal household routine waiting for the call. About 10 minutes later the phone rings and the CSR gets the new receiver up and running in no time.

Now all I have to do is ship back the broken receiver and I'm done.

This is so refreshing. I, like so many others, have had our battles with companies where you have to fight tooth and nail to get the most basic service and results.

Starchoice has certainly come a long way since the early days. I recall long waits (20+ minutes) back in 2001 when I first purchased my units.

Just out of curiosity, did they replace it with another 411, or a new receiver?

Just out of curiosity, did they replace it with another 411, or a new receiver?
The model number of the replacement is DSR-401-MN. I'll have to get used to not having the channel displayed on the front of the receiver.

Good. The 401 is dual satellite capable out of the box (plus has s-video and 5.1 connections) so is a better receiver to have anyway.

so when I signed up for starchoice, I got two receivers, the basic ones. Then about 6months later I sent back the second receiver and bought a new one. Other then them forgetting the receiver had been sent back (which was corrected) everything went well.. then I decided to cancel. The starchoice CSR said to return the second receiver I bought or get charged 200$ lol. The CSR may have been nice but why on earth would I want to give the 99$+tax receiver I bought to them for free? (after I sent them their ****** one)

Uhhh....because thats how a "12 month service aggreement" works. They give you a $300+ receiver for $99, and you subscribe to service for 12 months.
If you don't subscribe to service for 12 months, they are nice enough to let you return the used receivers, or you can pay $200 if you'd rather keep them.

last I checked they weren't "giving" recievers for 99$, they were selling them for 99$. This was a separate receiver, it had nothing to do with my original contract. it's not like I'm ever coming back to starchoice anyways I might as well give them a 99$ receiver as a parting gift lol

Alot of people are surprised by this, espicially if they've bought a HD receiver in there too.
The wording in the terms of service is fairly vague:
(h) Receiver Non-Return Fee: If you deactivate services prior to 12 months from the activation date and do
not return your receiver(s) and remote control(s) to Star Choice in good working condition, you will be charged
a Receiver Non-Return Fee of $200 plus applicable taxes.
That does mean any receivers you have purchased new within the first 12 months, you must return.

It's not an issue for most people, as they only start investing in additional receivers once they're comfortable with the service and plan to stay.

You can downgrade to Digital Basic for your last 6 months and that way only pay $120. You can also sometimes arrange to transfer everything directly to someone else, who would basically finish off the 6 months with whatever package they want.

This thread is for folks to post good stories and bad about Star Choice Customer Service.

If your posting a bad story, then at least try to post what knowledge is lacking and how the company might improve service rather than calling CSR's useless or idiots.

Remember CSR's are human too and sometimes they don't have all the answers
*choice sent me a larger quad dish to take to mexico since people have had problems with reception since the new sattelite...
No Problems, No Charge, Now that's service.....

I've had great service from Starchoice for the most part.

Recently I moved from small town Alberta to Calgary. I used the online form to set up my move. The fom indicated I would get a call within 2 days to set up a time... I waited a week and nothing. So I called them up to find out what was going on. They had my move set up for sometime in 2006?! After 2 more go arounds, everything was finally set up correctly... big screw up after big screwup, but they fixed it all in the end. :)

We've been with Starchoice since about September 2002 and it's been a great experience. I'v never had any troubles with their customer service and their CSRs have always been friendly and helpful, including yesterday when I setup my 505~!

I'll also note that I work for a retailer that sells both Starchoice and Bell systems and I'v helped a number of customers setup their Starchoice hardware and arrange for the dish installations. In all those instances they've been quick and helpful including one instance when I called them very, very, very late trying to setup a dish installation. The friendly CSR informed me that the department that that does that had closed quite awhile before but she said she would try her best to set something up for us. She did and Starchoice suddenly had another very satisfied customer. :)

I guess I'd like to know if my expectations are unrealistic.

I re-joined up with Starchoice in June 2005 since I'd been a satisfied customer with them before and at the positive feedback in this and other forums.

In October we sold our house and moved into a rental to await the completion of our new house. I called StarChoice and they put my account on hold and told me to schedule a move when we had a posession date. I did that and all was well, or so I thought.

We got into our house and install date came and went, as well as the next couple of install dates. I was told I'd be called a number of times but wasn't. I ended up not having TV over Christmas for an extended family dinner; the guys were miffed at not having the hockey game on I think, but more turkey appeased them I think :D

Anyway finally I got the install done on the 27th. All was good, or so I thought.

I got my bill today and there's an extra $100 charge on there! I called them and they said it was for the move as I hadn't been a customer for 1 year. I told her no one bothered to mention that to me, they had only told me that moves were included with StarChoice. She also said the extra charge was for running a second line to the receiver. I told her that there was no line run to the receiver, all lines are already run in my new house; the installer had to only run the two lines to the media panel in my basement. That and no one told me that there'd be an extra $50 fee for the second line as well. :(

I asked to speak with a supervisor and she said there's nothing they could do they'd tell me the same thing. She said the best she could do was offer me a free pay per view movie.

I don't really want to cancel, but I don't feel they've done one iota to address my concerns.

What should I be able to expect in this case? I want them to not charge me the $100 as I don't feel it's fair to charge fees without telling the customer about them.

Any advice/suggestions?

I would suggest calling back, I think your right if they didn't tell you about the charge then you should ask for atleast $50.00 be taken off the bill. If your willing to meet them half way I'm sure they will do it for you.

I would suggest calling back, I think your right if they didn't tell you about the charge then you should ask for atleast $50.00 be taken off the bill. If your willing to meet them half way I'm sure they will do it for you.

I asked the previous girl to even meet half way and she said she couldn't.

I called back and asked for a Customer Service Manager right off, and the person said they'd be able to help me. This guy was much more understanding, and said while they can't take off the move charge they could take off the dual line charge seeing as both lines were run to the exact same point in my basement. So they took off the $50, which in the end makes me happy.

His name was Tommy. So thanks Tommy for a much more enojyable customer service experience than my first call. That's the difference between a poor and a good customer service agent; being able to make a customer feel ok when they don't get what they want. :)

Well it was good until this happened:(

about 30 days ago I started a project that required no distractions. I decided to seasonally disconnect - with last bill in hand, I called billing to arrange it, paid the outstanding amount on the bill with mastercard, and then realised that I had paid too much - disconnect date was before the end of the billing period. Instead of redoing the Mcard the rep offered a refund cheque. A month or so later an invoice showing a "credit" arrived but no cheque.

I phone customer service to staighten it out, and was told that they would keep the money owed to me until I reconnect. I ask to speak to a supervisor and was told one would call me back in one to two hours! I ask for an email address to write my concerns to and was told by the CSR that they did not have that information!

Cable is looking very good right now.

Additional - as I was writing this a supervisor called me back not 1-2hrs but 15minutes. That's better - then after listening a brief explanation reversed the overcharge by refunding on my mastercard.

My blood pressure is still up but at least they did the right thing.

Cable is looking very good right now.


The problem with cable being that you can't just turn your service off for a month at a time.

Normally your account actually has to be off before they can do a refund cheque. A credit card refund is what they should have done. Glad it was resolved!

So, after years with an old 400-series receiver, I bought me one of them thar 505s.

I phone to say: "I understand I'll need an elliptical dish. Is that true?"
The fella says: "Yeah, but since you're a good customer and you bought the 505 without being told that you'd have to upgrade your circular dish, we'll install the elliptical for free."

I ask if'n I can connect the 505 to the old circular dish before they install the elliptical.
The fella says: "Sure. I'll guide you thru it."
I says: "But it'll take me some time to connect all them wires!"
He says: "No problem. I'll wait. Let me know when you're ready."

He'll wait?
On the phone?
While I fiddle with the cables?
Now that's a horror story, eh? ;)

Whatta company!

P.S.
I thought mebbe this fella was unusual.
I actually had to phone back three times before I got everything straightened out.
Each time I got a different guy.
Each time they were willing to give me all the help & time I needed.

Whatta company!