I just ordered an Hr20 and got it for $49.99. Last year I got a HR20 for $150 and the year before I got an H 20 for $199 with a $200 rebate. I'd say they are getting better.
What's the deal with DirecTv's lease?
- Thread starter sportse
- Start date
- Latest activity Latest activity:
- Replies 50
- Views 8K
- Status
Maybe this will make my D* receivers a little more valuable when I finally decide to sell them, since I definitely do own them. This leasing scheme is one of the biggest reasons to stay away from D* now. This cable company in the sky thing has turned me off completely.
Unless they are MPEG 4 receivers they aren't worth anything. SD receivers are a dime a dozen,Directv gives them for free.So to pay money for them isn't really worth it.
Oh. They give some away without having to lease them? That's not the impression I had. That's interesting.
1 year lease on SD receivers.There is really no benifit in owning.No commitment,thats it.It doesn't do any good not being used,so why not commit.,and get new equipment,Instead of someones out dated junk thats all over EBAY as it is.If Directv wants to give me a 3 or 4 room system for a 1 year contract,with no money down,why would I pay you anything for old receivers. Either way if I want to use them ,you still have to pay for programming. If you don't want it anymore after a year send it back. It didn't cost you a thing all year,but programming.You could keep all their stuff for 30 years if you wish.
I wonder if I could get anything for D* TiVo units... Or maybe I will just keep them.
Those may sell ,Everyone loves the TiVo's.But plain old SD receivers,I can't give mine away.
The trick would seem to be to sell them to people that D* would not otherwise like to extend service to (bad credit). Aren't they tougher on the credit checks these days than ever before?
I think they both are pretty tough,Not sure what you credit score has to be but I know quite a few people that didn't qualify ,without putting a lot of money upfront. I think E* is harder though ,But they have a prepaid plain so they can be strict. But D* doesn't so if they want customers they I would think, have to be less strict. So yes ,someone with really bad credit would benifit from owned used equipment.
Sure, you can cancel 3 out of 4 if you want, they don't care. Any that are leased will have to be sent back to them but other then that, so long as you have an active account and you pay of the minimum package the commitment is satisfied.
FYI the commitment to programming started long before the lease program came about. My last DirecTivo I got, which is owned, had a 1 year commitment to it. Commitment has nothing to do with leasing, just so we clear the air there.
As for deactivating a receiver, again, the hardware isn't in any way tied to whatever commitment you have. For example, last September I got an HR20 which of course started the clock on a 2 year commitment. But I kept my old Hughes E-86 HD receiver going as the HR20 didn't do OTA at first. After OTA was enabled and stable I deactivated the E-86 cause I didn't need it anymore and I saved the $5 a month mirror fee. I used it for OTA only until just recently when I finally retired it to the old receiver graveyard. Soon I'll probably get another HR20 and replace one of my SD DirecTivos so I'll be deactivating that Tivo. Again, no problems as the commitment is to programming, not to having any specific receivers on my account.
"Give them away" as in no up front costs. Any receiver you get is leased which just means you send it back to DirecTV (if they still want it) when you either deactivate it or leave DirecTV.
SD receivers are given away by the dozen, no up front costs. SD DVR is also given away like candy.
HD non-DVR is pretty easy to get for free as well.
The HR20 can be had for free/$20, especially if you have an HD-DirecTivo now or you call the right CSR and negotiate a deal. Otherwise it's typically $199 for current subs.
I've Had D* tell me to keep an old leased receiver,something tells me your right after awhile they don't want them back. I have 4 Standard receivers sitting in my closet. The one I'll never get rid of because it cost me $800 back in January 1995.
. If they would have had local channels back then ,I would have been a member for over 12 years, What a shame
Last edited:
These SD DVRs they are giving away like candy are not TiVos, are they? I suspect there is still a few bucks to be had for one of those for people that know what the difference is. The unwashed masses think they are the same only because they've never used a TiVo. Much like people who think the Shark Infinity vacuum is "just as good" as a Dyson Animal vacuum.
There hasn't been any SD DirecTivo's made or sold by DirecTV in over 2 years. So yes, the SD DVRs are not Tivo based.
Last edited:
Just convinced my wife tonight that the SD Tivo we kept in our bedroom was going to be outdated very soon and we are wasting the HD capability we could have in there by not stepping up to an HR20. Called D* and spoke to retention and they said that since the SD Tivo we had in the MBR was purchased, they would upgrade us to the HR20 for only the $19.95 "handling" fee and a renewal of our 2 year contract...which was just renewed 2-3 months ago when we upgraded to the 5LNB dish. So if the previous equipment is "owned", they can and should apply that original purchase price to the current "lease/purchase" price for a new HR20, so not everyone will have to pay an arm and 2 legs.
The "owned" rec. will be returned to D* in exchange for the new leased HR20. That new box remains theirs, and I think we have seen that most people are allowed/offered deals on upgrades/exchanges after about 6 months per receiver per account. But since this box is their top of the line DVR, there is nothing for me to upgrade to. If in the future they offer a newer better stronger faster DVR, then maybe I can just pay a small upgrade fee for that. But as long as this box is theirs, and I am on the protection plan, they are responsible for the care and maintenance of it. I just sit back and enjoy all the glorious HD that will soon occupy its HDD.
Previous subscriber but have been inactive for a couple years so I had my fiance subscribe last weekend as a "new subscriber" so we got the NFL Ticket deal which was the whole reason I wanted it again...
We used old equipment and dish and didn't get installation or a receiver from them... Am I in a contract? They didn't take her cc info and she even told the lady that we are using our own stuff and not getting anything from them so we weren't and she told her "Smart lady" Was she misinformed?
If she was and I decide to reactive my account, would I be locked into a contract too if I didn't get installation or receivers from them?
I can't use it full-time since we are in apartment that isn't very compatable with a full-time connection... am just using it on Sundays for the NFL
We used old equipment and dish and didn't get installation or a receiver from them... Am I in a contract? They didn't take her cc info and she even told the lady that we are using our own stuff and not getting anything from them so we weren't and she told her "Smart lady" Was she misinformed?
If she was and I decide to reactive my account, would I be locked into a contract too if I didn't get installation or receivers from them?
I can't use it full-time since we are in apartment that isn't very compatable with a full-time connection... am just using it on Sundays for the NFL
I know this is an old post and likely this topic has been talked to death but I just wanted to vent...
From DIRECTV Themselves: "Any reciever not purchased directly through us is leased equipment." I have no idea how they can unilaterally claim ownership of something that is not theirs but they do. They will continue to bill you the $4.99 leased reciever fee until you return the reciever that you never leased from them in the first place. (Maybe they don't actually want the old ones back but...) Beware - anything bought from anywhere (ie: Best Buy, E-Bay, Online stores) is leased equipment which you MUST return to them when you cancel your service. I have no idea how they can legally do that but they say it is all laid out in the Equipment Lease agreement - which interestingly enough you never see because you never agreed to (or entered into ) a lease with them. These guys have a lot of nerve but... The short answer is - anything you buy anywhere doesn't belong to you - it is a leased unit.... (Unless you buy it direct from them and pay the big $$$ Fee...) I never saw or was told anything even remotely like this when I activated a Tivo unit I bought on e-Bay. I even looked over the original contracts I have with them and nothing like this is mentioned (I have been a customer for many, many years). I have multiple units and have been happy so far but this has me really 'miffed' to say the least... I guess I just got burned and bought something that I can't own... Thanks for letting me vent...
From DIRECTV Themselves: "Any reciever not purchased directly through us is leased equipment." I have no idea how they can unilaterally claim ownership of something that is not theirs but they do. They will continue to bill you the $4.99 leased reciever fee until you return the reciever that you never leased from them in the first place. (Maybe they don't actually want the old ones back but...) Beware - anything bought from anywhere (ie: Best Buy, E-Bay, Online stores) is leased equipment which you MUST return to them when you cancel your service. I have no idea how they can legally do that but they say it is all laid out in the Equipment Lease agreement - which interestingly enough you never see because you never agreed to (or entered into ) a lease with them. These guys have a lot of nerve but... The short answer is - anything you buy anywhere doesn't belong to you - it is a leased unit.... (Unless you buy it direct from them and pay the big $$$ Fee...) I never saw or was told anything even remotely like this when I activated a Tivo unit I bought on e-Bay. I even looked over the original contracts I have with them and nothing like this is mentioned (I have been a customer for many, many years). I have multiple units and have been happy so far but this has me really 'miffed' to say the least... I guess I just got burned and bought something that I can't own... Thanks for letting me vent...
- Status
