Thread: What is a broker

Here at SatelliteGuys.US Canadian Satellite Forums whenever people talk about brokers they are referring to grey market brokers that Americans use to subscribe to Canadian Services (BEV, *C).

But what are brokers?

A broker is the middle-man between a satellite customer and a service provider.

A broker manages a customer's satellite satellite account for them. The time a customer may choose to use a broker is when the provider will not knowingly turn on service for their geographic location. The customer will provide the broker with their receiver serial #, model, brand, and smart card # along with their address and credit card number.

They bill their customers 1 of 2 ways for their programming. Either auto-pay on a credit or debit card or they pay the bill for their customer and charge their credit or debit card every month.

Brokers who set their customers up on auto-pay are better for their customers than ones who pay the bill for their customers due to the fact that if they pay the bill for their customers they can be involved with account splitting or have late payments causing service interruptions. If the bill is auto-pay the customer knows exactly how much the bill and how much it should be along with instant payment to the provider.

The broker uses an address in the geographic area where the satellite provider is authorized to provide service. Then they contact the satellite provider and have the customer turned on. The customer must leave their system on for it to be activated. After that is done the customer pays the annual fee for the brokerage services (around $25 USD to $120 USD) to the broker and the monthly fee from the provider. Some brokers will charge additional monthly services fees.

A grey market account may have service interruptions or disconnections if the broker doesn't make a payment on time (does not apply to those on auto-pay directly with the provider). Or if the provider knows the address belongs to a broker and decides to target it. An example is the nightmare satellite broker, Freeway Support who's Bell ExpressVU accounts are constantly being targeted and shut off. If you go through a good broker you should not experience these problems.

When dealing with a broker, NEVER contact the provider directly. If you do so you will get your account shut off in addition to the account's of other's who use the same broker. You will also have your receiver blacklisted along with your credit card to prevent you from getting reconnected with the provider.

***Stay away from Freeway Support Services***
Canam Satellites/Largo Communications and Canam Satellites/SmallDish.com are not the same company

I recommend
WMS Activations

to use as a broker. Their e-mail is help@wmsactivations.com.removethislastnospamline
And another good broker (for info on the other good broker PM me)

A couple things to add after the edit:

Any broker who deals in account sharing aka account splitting aka shared accounts is black market and illegal.

Any broker who sells DirecTV or Dish Network is breaking Canadian law even if they are using the grey market way (which has been a matter of debate, and was once not illegal in canada).

Just follow this link for the Canadian services you speek of there is no gray area,buy the gear,install,activate and watch


http://www.canamsatellites.com/

Originally Posted by branchbouncer

Just follow this link for the Canadian services you speek of there is no gray area,buy the gear,install,activate and watch


http://www.canamsatellites.com/

Wow, those guys charge a bit more than the others... how can they charge extra for the dish? Isnt it supposed to be included in the cost of the reciever? Also, their base hardware prices are quite a bit higher than others..

Assuming this is in USD (as they are based in Florida)...

CanAm DSR500 w/dish $499
CanAm DSR500 w/o dish $459
KuSat DSR500 w/ or w/o dish $323

CanAm DSR315 w/dish $149
CanAm DSR315 w/o dish $109
KuSat DSR315 w/ or w/o dish $85

CanAm 3100 w/dish $198
CanAm 3100 w/o dish $99
KuSat 3120 w/ or w/o dish $85

CanAm 6100 w/dish $299
KuSat 6100 w/ or w/o dish $254

Also, their programming costs are slightly higher than the providers cost, not by much, but higher nonetheless.. sounds like you pay them, and they pay the providers.. Such as Starchoice Essentials.. $28.99 CAD = $23.48 US, not $25.10, and Movies.. $19.99 CAD = $16.19 US not $18.59.. these are small differences, but still are there.

Just because the retailer is in the states, does not make it "not a gray area".. Canadian programming in the US = Gray area, no ifs, ands, or buts.

Originally Posted by ultatryon

Just because the retailer is in the states, does not make it "not a gray area".. Canadian programming in the US = Gray area, no ifs, ands, or buts.

You got it. Just try calling the provider directly branchbouncer and place an order. First off, you can't even call ExpressVu's free number from the US. If you figure out how to call through their direct dial number they'll be happy to tell you that you can NOT have ExpressVu in the US.

I was just posting a link to broker that could provide you with the equipment that you need for the service,with out the run around of contacting someone that is maybe selling an illegal service,people do use the service that is in the link.Personally after living overseas for a few years in different locations I would not sign up for anyones service other that what is here in the states,and surely not from a country whose West and East coast are on such bitter terms.Lack of morales is another issue that my oldest childern will be dealing with soon at college but the youngest 5-7 don't need to see some of the crap that the Eurpoean community thinks is funny

Originally Posted by branchbouncer

I was just posting a link to broker that could provide you with the equipment that you need for the service,with out the run around of contacting someone that is maybe selling an illegal service,people do use the service that is in the link.Personally after living overseas for a few years in different locations I would not sign up for anyones service other that what is here in the states,and surely not from a country whose West and East coast are on such bitter terms.Lack of morales is another issue that my oldest childern will be dealing with soon at college but the youngest 5-7 don't need to see some of the crap that the Eurpoean community thinks is funny

They do the same thing as any other broker, they must have some sort of canadian presence as well, otherwise they could not function. Just because you call a guy in Florida instead of Toronto, does not make it any more safe, or less "illegal" (I use the term very loosely, since we are paying for the service)

The big thing that raises a red flag to me, is it sounds like with this place, you pay them, and they pay the provider.. which leaves alot open for illegal accounts (joint accounts, etc), where other brokers just give the provider your information (less the address of course), and they bill you directly.. much less chance of getting screwed, and no chance of getting shut down because of someone else.

I would say that company is much less reputable then the others I have delt with, due to the fact that they overcharge for everything..

If you have such disinterest in watching Canadian TV, then why are you posting in this forum to begin with?

Originally Posted by ultatryon

The big thing that raises a red flag to me, is it sounds like with this place, you pay them, and they pay the provider.. which leaves alot open for illegal accounts

...

I would say that company is much less reputable then the others I have delt with, due to the fact that they overcharge for everything..

Which is exactly how Freeway Support operates. They used to be just an annual fee and then they started surcharging programming. They always charged and then paid the service. Their ever-increasing fees and ever-reducing ability to contact them in a reasonable period of time is why I left them.

Canam just gives you a basic converted cost with PST and GST added. You get billed directly from BEV or *C.