BUYER BEWARE - DIRECT TV MAY OWN YOUR RECEIVER

[RVRacer101]

PLEASE READ - YOU MAY OR MAY NOT OWN YOUR DIRECT TV RECEIVER

Please research your rights.  According to Direct TV it will be your responsibility to PROVE your OWNERSHIP.  IF NOT THEY CLAIM THEY OWN THE UNIT.......

This is a copy of a portion of the actual letter I received, I was shocked.  My savings was that we purchased our motorcoach before this date.  However if I had not argued the fact and took Direct TV for their word I would have GIVEN them a unit THEY DID NOT OWN....I do not want this to happen to others.

Portion of Letter On DIRECT TV's "NEW" Policy:


Find the following in regards to the DirecTV lease program that is now in place from DirecTV. DSI is our supplier of receivers. We are unique in the fact that we do not receive a residual for activations. We simply supply the receivers so end consumers have a turn key solution. We feel without this many receivers would not get hooked up correctly with the KVH antenna.

The DirecTV receiver issue is on the table as we have reviewed the situation in a series of meetings and calls with DSI. RiverPark is working with DSI to put together a program to hopefully meet the requirements of the RV customer.

The issue goes something like this:  Prior to August 2nd, a customer had an ownership option for a receiver they purchase in the market.  The customer needed to clearly state the ownership, and sometimes prove ownership by providing a sales receipt.  The policy was inconsistently administrated by DTV.

Retail (BestBuy, Circuit City, Higley Appliance, etc.) units went 100% to a lease arrangement.  The advantage of the lease is DTV is responsible for the hardware for life of the contract; failures, upgrades, etc, are serviced by DTV. 

There is a mix of RV customer owned and leased receivers in the market today creating the confusion.

On August 2nd DTV went to a 100% lease arrangement for new hardware entering into their system period, so if you bought a receiver as part of a motor home, or had one on the shelf you had previously purchased, when you activate the receiver it becomes the property of DTV.  Our market has been struggling with the lease vs. ownership issue since June, and this week was the first we learned of the new rules per DirecTV?s announcement:

August 2nd, 2007, Attention:

Before you activate your DIRECTV service you should be aware of the following:  Activating this DIRECTV unit, obligates you to leasing this DIRECTV unit from DIRECTV.  This means you will be required to return this DIRECTV unit at the termination of your subscription, at your expense, back to DIRECTV.  Failure to do so, will resulting in additional charges from DIRECTV.  Ownership of this DIRECTV box, once activated with DIRECTV, can not be transferred under any condition.  If you are already a DIRECTV customer, activation may extend the terms of your current lease with DIRECTV.

As you read the above it almost sounds criminal, however, this is the policy going forward.  The proposed solution is to offer lower priced receivers (subsidized by DirecTV) to the RV channel.  The customer will have the opportunity to purchase a receiver in the RV channel.  The premium paid for the receiver (versus free at retail with lease contract) offers the customer a turn key solution to satellite TV:  a KVH antenna system packaged with a receiver (or two), factory installed, tested, and warranted by the OEM and RiverPark.  The customer will also have the benefits of the DirecTV lease:  hardware upgrades in the future, receiver replacement for defectives units, etc.  When the customer activates the receiver he relinquishes ownership of the receiver and it becomes property of DTV per the above policy.

GOOD LUCK TO YOU>

 

[Whiskyecho]

I had 10 months of horror stories with DTV (Jan 06 thru Oct 06) and their nonsense continues.

Went for that period of time paying for 2 tv reception service (1 receiver/recorder and 1 receiver) - so as, of course, to watch 1 program while recording another.  Perhaps close to a dozen "service" persons came to the house before they "let me show them" how to run the 2nd line (and then that person knocked out 1/2 my programming).

You can possibly imagine the time I spent on the phone - and each time DTV kept wanting to pacify my by giving me "stuff" (as the 2 line problem wasn't solved).

One of the "gives" was a 2nd receiver/recorder that DTV said would be mine and there wouldn't be a monthly charge for an additional receiver - well that lasted for about 3 months when they started charging me for "their" receiver.  DTV said "that offer was over with before it was given to you and therefore pay or send it back".

Oh and they had me down as starting my "new" 2 year commitment as of when they gave me that 3rd receiver.  Complete and total, well, you know..

My (original) 2 year contract is up 4 Jan and unless then assign Gisele Bundchen (top super model) to work my (TV) buttons each night I'm headed for Cable.....Bill

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I saw a sign in a Camping World store yesterday, on a stack of DTV receivers that were for sale. It said "NOTICE - THIS RECEIVER BELONGS TO DIRECT TV".  But if it belongs to DTV, what the devil would I be I paying Camping World for? Delivery to their store so I can take it home?

And the prices weren't just a few dollars either - more like the same retail prices that the various model receivers have always sold for.

This is crazy. And do people really have so many receiver box failures that leasing then is a good idea?  More likely it just gives DTV a better grip on the market. And the customer.

 

[Tom]

When I bought our HDTV DVR at Costco, the label called it a "HD upgrade kit". I called DTV from the store and asked why I was paying for a receiver that didn't belong to me. I didn't come out of the endless discussion loop and paid the money to get HD. As I recall, the price was significantly less than I'd previously paid for my own DVR.

 

[Wendy]

Guess I'll stick with Dish.

Wendy
Death Valley NP

 

[teachers pet]

Direct TV the consumer's friend ???

 

[Shayne]

Try Dish  if you don't like it , it's $240 to disconnect any time less than 2 yrs They installed it for us 2yr ago and only got 1 program  nothing else,  Told that won't work  stop it, they are still trying to collect the 240  Told them to kiss where the sun don't shine

 

[Jim Johnson]

When we took the lightening strike and lost all our electronics I called DirecTv and told them my receiver needed replacing.  They told me I had two choices: buy a receiver from them for $395 or pay $19.95 shipping and use one of theirs.  Guess what i did??

 

[Karl]

Guess what i did??

Renewed your NetFlix subscription? :

 

[joester]

I have had different results with Directv -
in the past 2 years, I added 2 Samsung TIVO dvr model sir-s4040r units I bought on e-bay to our home system.
I called Directv, and gave them the serial number on each, and the sellers name, which they confirmed,
and for $20 each, they sent me new cards. once they arrived and I called Directv, and they were activated within about 2 minutes. I first unit like this I purchased from Directv in 2002 - when Tivo was still affiliated with Directv. I liked it so much I didn't want to go without Tivo menus I had become so comfortable with, so I first called Directv and asked if I could replace my plain RCA receivers with these Samsung units, and they said sure. If you have Tivo, you know how expensive just the Tivo service is now, but I only pay an extra $5.99 for the Tivo service on all 3 of these total, plus the additional 5 bucks/mo for the receivers themselves.
I have been happy with Directv since I signed up with them about 8 years ago.
just wanted to post my positive experience with Directv, and no - I don't work for them.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I own the DTV receiver in our coach too - it came with the coach and DTV confirms it's mine. I too bought the new card from them for $20.  But I now want to get a newer model (for HDTV) and it appears that DTV will own that one, no matter where/how I buy it. 

 

[SCR]

I sure wish there was an alternative to the DISH or DirecTV game but unfortunately there is not. In as much as this is a DirecTV thread I will not go in to why I left DISH after 7 years.

My first DVR was a DirecTV/Tivo unit. Loved it, even with the slow menus and all. DirecTV offered me an "upgrade", their term not mine, to their DVR, the R-15, when my Tivo started to head south after 4 years of continuous service. I am now on my 3rd R-15 in less then 10 months, they seem to die easily.  The first just quit, the second would record what it wanted when it wanted or not at all. Now and then it would honor my request for a specific show. So far, four days , the 3rd seems to be working. How long is debatable as all three seemed to work ok in the beginning. It was very nice of DirecTV to replace the defective unit each time. All this for $21.95 shipping and handling each time. What more could I ask for you ask. They sent me a fourth to my billing address, terrific. Now I get to have it forwarded and pay $16.95 in postage. The joy of calling the wonderful folks at DirecTV and try to explain this DVR I suddenly came in possession of is... well, just overwhelming.

It wasn't easy to convince the kind soul in DirecTV land that I had one of their DVR's they didn't know about. I also got to take a wonderful trip of about 40 miles to get the erroneously shipped DVR to a FedEx drop box. It was a nice day so I felt really lucky to be able to make the trip and thought that maybe when I got back to the RV in a hour or so I would call DirecTV and thank them for the opportunity, but I didn't. I do feel guilty about that.

Now I'm not going to go in to the period of time that led up to each replacement. But, if you have ever had to reset one of these things back to default then you can understand my plight. Generally this proposed fix came at a time when we had no less then 50 or so hours of recordings, many for the times I get lazy and not set up the dish. For those who have not had this wonderful experience it basically wipes the drive of everything and I do mean everything.  Then it's like brand new, so they tell me. After you do this "repair" several times it tends to raise your blood pressure, another side benefit of DirecTV.

On more then one call the kind and informative support person told me that's why I should have a VCR, for backup of my DVR. I was told this when complaining about losing all the recorded programs so many times. This statement started me thinking. It is incredible that we would use older technology to back up the new technology. But sometimes I think in strange directions.

If my memory serves me correctly each VCR holds about 4 hours of quality recording. So it would take around 13 VCR cassettes to hold the back up. I have no idea how long it would take to get them on the VCR because I have never done this, my guess would be around 50 hours. Well yes!  That will work just grand, silly me. Why would I think that backing up a hard drive to a hard drive would be a better way to go. Let's see.. $70 for the VCR and around $30 for the cassettes. Sure wish I had held on to that old VCR I got rid of so I could spend all that time changing cassettes and storing them. Again, it was silly on my part to think that I would no longer have to fool around with that VCR stuff. After all I have a DVR. It would have been even easier had they provided a method of transferring the recorded shows to the replacement DVR rather then to a VCR, another silly idea of mine.

All of the aforesaid applies to my experience with DirecTV's wonderful equipment. In the end tech support resolved the issue each time, albeit a little painful, a little expensive and very time consuming.

As far as who owns the DVR, me or DirecTV? I could care less as long as it works, at least for 6 months.

Just my story as a happy and content DirecTV customer, golly that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.
s.

 

[Ron]

I own the DTV receiver in our coach too - it came with the coach and DTV confirms it's mine. I too bought the new card from them for $20.  But I now want to get a newer model (for HDTV) and it appears that DTV will own that one, no matter where/how I buy it. 

It will be yours if you buy a Tivo and it will be more dependable.

 

[PattieAM]

I've had Directv for years, and have been very pleased.  I did have to replace the receivers a few years ago as they were hooked up to the telephone, and we didn't have a surge protector on the lines, and a power surge on the phone line blew the modems in the receivers. 

I own my equipment (it's the basic receiver, not digital or HD or whatever), and can take the receiver(s) on trips with me in the RV, but am limited to  my 'home' broadcasting unless I notify Directv.  I also am able to suspend service (which I have done for my seasonal dwelling) with no issues.

The Directv website has information regarding the lease policy and the reasons why.  Basically the 'lease' is due to constantly advancing technology, and users requests to upgrade. 

Seems similiar to leasing a cable TV box - turn it in when you are finished using it.

Just talked to the folks at Directv (1-800-531-8000) for clarification.  It was explained that the DVR or HD receivers are leased (constantly changing technology) and need to be returned to Directv if service is deactivated.  I asked about 'terms of commitment', and for a standard receiver, the length of commitment is 18 months, a DVR/HD is 24 months.  I also reconfirmed that I can take my existing receiver and use it in my RV, with no problem, but would be restricted to my home programming.

 

[tonyb2377]

IMHO, this is actually better than it was at first with them. I got DirectTV when it first came out because we did not have cable in my area. I used it for a number of years, upgraded to a DVR, and then when I was getting my new HD tv I wanted to get a HD DVR. They told me I would have to purchase one for $499. I had been a customer for around 6 years at the time. I said up yours and called comcast. I have 2 HD DVR's at nop cost  and if one fails they replace it.
BUT now as a new MH owner, I am going to reopen my DTV acct and am glad I will not have to purchase at full retail a new DVR reciever for the MH. They have been sending me nice little offers once a week for the last 6 months.