Is DIRECTV responsible for removing satellite dish?

Who is Responsible for DIRECTV Satellite Dish Removal?

DIRECTV services are among the most popular residential services, but as is the case with any other service, there are times when a customer may need to cancel the service. Who is supposed to make arrangements to collect it, or is DIRECTV required to come and collect their equipment? This is one of the most frequent questions that customers who decided to cancel their satellite TV services have.

DIRECTV Satellite Dish Ownership

While the satellite dish is mounted on your premises to deliver the programming of DIRECTV to you, the dish and all other components provided to you are the property of DIRECTV. This encompasses the dish, mounting bracket, cabling, and receivers within your home or place of residence. Hence, according to the Customer Agreement which you agreed to when initiating service with DIRECTV, the company owns these components in their entirety.

That is why when your subscription is deactivated, DIRECTV has a right to come to your home and remove their equipment for use in other homes. It means that you do not possess the dish and cannot transfer the dish to other people, for example, sell or give it to them. DIRECTV is required to remove the balloons eventually and wants to reclaim their property in good condition if at all possible.

DIRECTV Dish Removal Process

The following is the normal practice at DIRECTV regarding the removal of satellite TV facilities from customers’ premises when the service is terminated. Here is what typically happens:Here is what typically happens:

1. In the event that you decide to cancel your subscription with the company, the account representative fills an order on the cancellation and other information stating that equipment must be returned.

2. The DIRECTV dealer in your locality is informed and requested to send a technician to your home for dish collection. This is done based on the availability of the technicians and your freely chosen dates.

3. On the specified date, a technician gets to the satellite dish and secures access to it. He removes it from the roof/balcony including cabling and wall plates if any were used.

4. The technician then takes the materials he or she has recovered and transports them back to DIRECTV. Wearable parts are recycled while the rest are recycled in the correct manner.

5. In return, the dealer receives a small amount of money from DIRECTV every time this work order is completed. In addition to retrieving their equipment, proper plate clearance helps avoid the cluttering of customer residences with unused equipment.

   This way, DIRECTV plans to reclaim its satellite dishes as soon as 30 days since the time when users decided to cancel their subscriptions. However, no fees are imposed on you if retrieval is delayed further. All technicians are instructed not to cause any harm to property by moving dishes and cables. They may also employ lift equipment to enable them get to such installations without risking their lives.

   Can Customers Take the Dish Back by Their Own?:

   Additional, it should be noted that subscribers who decide to uninstall a DIRECTV satellite on their own are responsible for any incurred losses on the equipment. What is more, you may be required to pay unreturned equipment fees to DIRECTV if dishes are not returned within 45 days of cancellation. However, the dishes become the property of DIRECTV either way and cannot be used again or resold.

   Some reasons why it is best to allow DIRECTV technicians to remove satellite dishes:Some reasons why it is best to allow DIRECTV technicians to remove satellite dishes:

• Professionals are capable of removing dishes that are strategically placed above the heads of people without anyone falling or getting injured in the process.

• DIRECTV ensures that the removal was done correctly for their records.

• You do not incur legal responsibility if equipment is lost through self removal.

• No need to personally transport bulky dish components in order to return to DIRECTV.

  If you do proceed with self-removal, DIRECTV requires the customers to return the satellite, mounting bracket, cabling, and receivers to any DIRECTV retail center. However, dealing with removal on your own is not advisable in most circumstances.

  Refusing DIRECTV Dish Retrieval

  As a subscriber with DIRECTV, you agreed that they could gain access to your home to deactivate and uninstall their equipment after cancellation. So technicians have a right to enter your property during reasonable hours to take back the satellite dish and other parts. Failure to return the dish is against the terms of the Customer Agreement signed by DIRECTV.

  If a customer repeatedly denies DIRECTV technicians entry to the property for equipment recovery, legal action can be taken:If a customer repeatedly denies DIRECTV technicians entry to the property for equipment recovery, legal action can be taken:

• DIRECTV may charge an “unreturned equipment fee” in your last bill for keeping their dish without permission. Standard fees are between $135 and over $400 depending on the type and the condition of the equipment.

• In order for households with unreturned equipment charges, DIRECTV is permitted by law to hire a third party to collect the overdue charges. If unpaid, they can affect your credit history in a negative way depending on the amount of money involved.

• Occasionally, DIRECTV gets court orders to go into customers’ property and take back the satellite dishes and receivers, which were not returned. This helps to do away with instances where one is forced to pay for the equipment to be returned only for the owner not to collect them again.

  To avoid such incidences, it is wise to schedule dish removal at the time when you cancel DIRECTV instead of denying them their technicians rightfully. Inform DIRECTV representatives if one needs to reschedule the removal dates due to personal reasons and ensure that the communication is clear.

  Removing DIRECTV then getting DISH Network to be installed entails the following;

  Satellite TV service is unique in that only one provider’s equipment can be physically placed in a residence at a given period of time. So if you are canceling DIRECTV to join DISH Network, then you will have to remove the DIRECTV equipment first before the installation of the satellite and hardware by Dish.

  Here is the typical process to transition between the two satellite providers:Here is the typical process to transition between the two satellite providers:

1. First, cancel your DIRECTV subscription and arrange to have your service disconnected.

2. Let DIRECTV take their satellite dish and any other hardware that they have placed on your premises for their service.

3. Find out more about DISH Network offers and purchase a new satellite TV service.

4. The DISH technician goes to the home on the install date and installs their satellite dish on the roof or finds the best new place if needed.

5. Cables are pulled into your home to the desired location, and then connected to DISH receivers. Coding starts after the new dish is synchronized and powered on.

   It means that by properly disconnecting one service before beginning another, a customer does not pay for the two at the same time. But allowing each provider adequate time to dismantle the old equipment and install the new system helps to have atransition between the two.

   Summing It Up

   DIRECTV owns the satellite dishes it installs even if bolted onto its customers’ property. And when a subscriber decides to cancel service, then the company is required to reclaim this equipment without any added cost. As much as subscribers are able to physically remove dishes on their own, enabling the dealers of DIRECTV to remove them professionally eliminates cases of destruction of property and customers being charged. Although the removal of prior service’s equipment suggests that subscribers are unable to switch to another service provider including DIRECTV to DISH Network, this shift is possible with prior planning.