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Shaw Direct Complaint, Rant, Leaving SD Thread

325K views 1K replies 235 participants last post by  P2B 
#1 ·
This thread is for frustrated members to air their beefs and grievances over Shaw Direct.

If you have a technical problem that needs solving, please check out other threads, as this one is just for rants and complaints.

Please Note:

Although this thread is for rants and complaints, you are still expected to follow the rules of the forum when you post so No swearing, no oversized fonts, images etc.
 
#120 ·
Is it just me or we were better under the old company ( Star Choice ) and ever since Shaw is in the picture , it's not the same anymore.... even if i know that shaw was already involve way b4 the move .

I'm always on the defensive when i see stuff like : New name , new company but same service .

It's the same thing like when a big insdustry buy a small one and they say : Dont worry , it will stay the same , no one will lose their job ... :rolleyes:
 
#121 ·
My Beef:

I am paying 95.00 per month and half the channels I do not even watch, but the way the packages are setup you have no choice. Allot of the packages only have one or two stations I do watch. They should allow you to pick the channels you want, but naturally they don`t.
 
#122 ·
NHL Package Not as good as Bell

I found out this morning that Bell carried the delayed game last night from New Jersey. I tried to get it on my Shaw and wasn't being shown. I believe now I've made a mistake. We have a player from our village who plays for the Lighting, I was furious when I found out it was not available and over coffee this morning found the guys with Bell were able to watch on channel 424.
 
#123 ·
noah12 said:
My Beef:

I am paying 95.00 per month and half the channels I do not even watch, but the way the packages are setup you have no choice. Allot of the packages only have one or two stations I do watch. They should allow you to pick the channels you want, but naturally they don`t.
From what I've heard, it's not always up to the provider. There is this "thing" with the CRTC about having a certain amount of "Canadian Content" so they bundles are arranged as such, so they can be allowed that way. Shaw and other companies can sell certain channels by themselves. I don't see how this is a complaint at Shaw Direct, it's like this with every company....
 
#125 ·
the bundles are often dictated by the network owners themselves. for example people often can't understand why they have to subscribe to either fun stuff bundle or the movie channel bundle to get playboy. it doesn't make sense til you realize that they are distributed by the same company.
 
#127 ·
Shaw Direct is more expensive now. :(

I have been with a Sat dish (StarChoice originally) for about 1 year or so.
Now Starchoice is gone and Shaw Direct took over. I reside in Ottawa presently as well.

My main rant:
is the slight increase in my Bill ?. compared to what I was paying before with *C, I'm am now paying about ~$8 more per month ?!
I phoned Shaw months ago, and we went thru everything and sure enough they finally admitted that they have had a small increase in rates generally.
Has anyone else had this "slight/tiny" increase too ?
 
#128 ·
We all get these $2 or $3 increases. I think we all had one back in September and now all of us with the HD packages are seeing an increase as of Feb. 1st. I've been with StarChoice/Shaw Direct for years now and have had increases every year. Thankfully, as a long time customer I was able to shave about $16.00 off my monthly bill by getting rid of most of those useless timeshifting channels from across Canada.
 
#129 ·
mypath

I have had far to many dvr530 exchanges over the year in 2009.
A week ago I received a brand new 530 out of the box.
However the new 530 in my experience seems to have the same inherited faults.
These include powering off whenever it wants to,channel freezing,although the bottom guide advances, audio no picture,factory reset issues.
Having to pull the AC plug and waiting awhile seems to be the only way reset the unit.
After being a long time customer a change may be the way to go.

mypath
 
#130 ·
I'm on my second 530.

These are some of the unusual but regular problems I have:

unit seems erratic when you give it something to do while on an HD channel

I regularly get an unsubscibed message to a channel I'm subscribed to and need to enter the channel twice to get it

sometimes a newly recorded show does not show up on the list unless I exit and re-enter.
 
#131 ·
I cancelled Yesterday

Hello

I called Shaw Direct to cancel my service yesterday. I have been a 5 year subscriber and had the 530 since it first came out. I went through approx 6 530s in that amnt of time. Sunday night was the last straw for me. I was watching HD Net and my 530 rebooted itself about 15 times in about 20 minutes. I called tech support and he could not figure it out and sent me out a refurb PVR. I checked out Telus and their offers were too good to pass up and called shaw to cancel. The guy in the Retentions department asked me why i wanted to cancel and I told him that the 530 is a peice of junk and we have been promised upgrades to the guide for 4 years and that it has been tested for that long. He stated to me that there is upgrades and they are testing right now:rolleyes: and the rollout should be soon. Then he said that it seems that nothing will keep me with them and went ahead and canceled. The only bad part is i have to pay the remaining 3months of my center ice package. I wish all of you luck with your 530's the frustration is over for me!!!!
 
#133 ·
This is not a Telus thread so lets keep the discussion to Shaw please. Off-topic posts will be removed.
 
#142 ·
Cancel shaw direct, get the name and address of everyone who cancelled before...

So I just recently canceled my shaw direct service. I received a box 2 days later and have been contemplating what do to with it since.
You see, I found that instead of removing old shipping stickers they just slap your new one on top, I was able to peel off my label and clearly read a full name, phone number and address of the person who canceled before me.
I am also able to pull the other 10 stickers stacked up below this one.
If you want picture evidence I will post one shortly.
If anyone has any advice of what to do or what legal action I can seek that would be great.
This is a serious leak of privacy, I am sure these people would not be happy that their addresses are being shared with the next person who cancels. I am very hesitant of sending my box back.
 
#145 ·
...I was able to peel off my label and clearly read a full name, phone number and address of the person who canceled before me...If anyone has any advice of what to do or what legal action I can seek that would be great.
I assume that you received a box to return equipment? How do you know these other people canceled? Perhaps it was just warranty returns.

You're asking about legal action for a sticker on a box with somebody else's address? Just contact the Privacy Officer at Shaw Direct and leave it at that. No damage has been done.
 
#144 · (Edited)
Thats nice.
My name, address and phone number are all unlisted.
Privacy is an important issue.
Upon signing up for Shaw Direct they agreed to keep my information private, the neglect to remove or black out shipping information is solely on the responsibility of Shaw Direct, since they are the ones who made such and agreement. Shipping me 10 other customers mailing address, name and phone number breaks that agreement for them. I can see Shaw Direct intended to continue this process, and would therefore break my agreement.
 
#146 ·
CSR-Fail

Here's my current rant/complaint.

WSBK goes to black last night while a family member is watching. Troubleshooting was already done for me as the family member reports no reception on other receivers.

Call SD and punch in the channel number to see if they are aware of an issue. Message says no known problems with channel so I get transferred. Report problem and ask girl if she can check at her end.

Have to provide my name, number, etc. She checks account and proceeds to tell me I'm not subscribed to that channel. Strike 1. I really don't have time to educate their CSRs at this point. I was not ready to go into an explanation of why I have the channel and why I have had it for probably well in excess of 5 years without being "subscribed". I remember that this channel is on free preview so just tell her that. OK-she seems content with that although I could tell by the reaction that she knew nothing about the free preview. Strike 2.

So I go on hold and she must have checked the status of the channel as well as the free preview because she then acknowledged that the channel was out and that it would be escalated. She then proceeds to tell me that the free preview ends on August 31st and she doesn't know if it will be extended. (Who cares about the free preview. I'll still have the channel.) I'm really miffed at this misinformation because I know that the website indicates the free preview is going until October 31st. Strike 3. CSR=fail.
 
#149 ·
Am I the only one who is still bent out of shape about losing channels like Tv Land Canada last year?

I went to the CRTC for help with this. Although kind and courteous, no help.
No, you're not alone. I'm still bent out of shape over them ditching TV Land and also Court TV and Sun TV. You can call them under the old name or the new name. It doesn't matter. The channels are not carried.

For the record, I'm also still bent out of shape over them still not having added bpm:tv.
 
#150 ·
Deceptive Tactics

The last increase in price was it for me. When I called in to cancel the rep asked what I was going to use. I told him I was going back to antenna. His response was " you know that's soon going to be obsolete right?". This is patently false and very deceptive. The US broadcasters are finished converting and the Canadian broadcasters are mandated to convert to digital by the CRTC.
I told him I was quite happy with the 20+ digital channels that were already converted and expected the last few would come in by the deadline.
No more bills. No more increases. No more channel changes. Buh Bye Shaw
 
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