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Several possible causes may make your DirecTV bill higher than you initially estimated. Here are some of the most common causes and what you can do about them: Here are some of the most common causes and what you can do about them:
Price Increases
It also has a similar fate with any other companies that offer subscription services; the company occasionally raises its price. These price increases are often effected to help offset the increasing cost of content and or operation. For instance, DirecTV is forced to pay more to acquire specific channels which it then recovers from customers through inflated charges. Be also aware of any higher rates and look at the monthly bills more thoroughly.
Promotional Offers Expired
Most customers subscribe to DirecTV offers where they are provided with rates that are lower for a given duration of time such as one year or two years. They just continue with normal prices and then people start receiving their bills that are much higher now. If you are not receiving new customer or retention offers anymore, check your account details to see if you have opted out. If yours has recently expired, try to consider making a call to seek new promotions.
Premium Channels/Packages
When you subscribe to more of these additional internet service providers such as HBO, Showtime or even subscribing to more of the channel packages such as the sporting events packages, then your monthly charges will increase. Determine whether you are indeed getting sufficient value from such channels by watching enough premium content to warrant the additional costs. Erasing or degrading so many channels is one of the simplest ways to reduce costs.
Leased Equipment/Receiver Fees
Subscribers of DirecTV mostly sign for leasing receivers, digital video recorders, and other equipment. Initial one-time charges for DVR and HD receivers are $100-$200 and $50-$100 respectively while monthly lease fees are $5- $15 per box. Be sure you’re returning any receivers you are not using to avoid paying lease fees that you are not going to utilize again.
PPV Movie/Event Orders
There are times when one may be browsing through the channels and end up buying boxing matches or movies at odd times when one is not fully conscious of what he or she is doing but all those charges come in at the end of the month. Have a look at your statement to see whether the PPV orders are inflating the amounts. The PPV channels are growing to be a costly affair; therefore, contact DirecTV to deactivate the same if need be.
Regional Sports Fees
Regional sports fees have been adopted by DirecTV and other pay-TV providers to address challenges that include the high cost of providing local sports content and broadcasting rights. Regrettably, many of these ancillary costs are not disclosed but rather buried in the small print as it were. Faced with regional sports fees, there is not much you can do to avoid paying them other than eliminating all the sports channels.
Late Fees/Unreturned Equipment Charges
They balance forward meaning if one has delayed making payments or has other charges like equipment charges, DirecTV adds all those to your bill. Some card companies charge late payment fees and unreturned receiver penalties every month, so check that they are not adding up each month. Pay bills on time and return any rented equipment to avoid the accrual of more costs.
Bundling Costs
While there is a tendency to provide a discount when bundling DirecTV with wireless or internet service, the overall costs for separate services generally rise after some time with additional costs for services such as wireless or internet in addition to DirecTV. Consider if it still is wiser to bundle than to simply have DirecTV or to return to cable in terms of finances.
Taxes & Surcharges
Some of the taxes that relate to local jurisdiction, and government fees are included in the DirecTV bill. These ancillary charges are normally inclined towards a rise in the long haul and therefore have a bearing on the overall costs. Well, it is sad to say that taxes and most of the surcharges are inevitable but at least it is nice to be informed about them.
Thus, when you comprehend well the factors that contributed to your higher DirecTV bill, you can easily identify the areas that have been costing you more. Eliminating or reducing the limited selections of expensive channels, extra equipment costs that are not being used, or any other additional charges are some of the best methods that can be employed to reduce the monthly bill. However, equally important to address is the monitoring of promotional offers expiring soon, increasing base package rates, and hidden charges in the contracted service providers. To make sure that pricing for satellite TV remains reasonable going forward, it will be important to monitor statements for reference to it and to ask about new promotions.
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