10 year customer leaving this crappy service.

[radsld]

I arrived home today to find my DirecTV HD DVR will not power on. I have tried all the usual "fixes" and went through the HE77 of the automated Customer Service line and finally spoke with someone. After answering all the same questions AGAIN it was decided that the DVR was dead and needed replaced. DirecTV owns the box, I lease it, and they want me to pat $20.00 to have a replacement for their dead equipment to be replaced.

If I owned the box or if it was negligence that caused the malfunction I could understand paying to have a new one shipped out but that is not the case. They are using this as a "tool" to force you into taking the protection plan. This is a sad and heavy handed approach to profit generation. I have been a loyal, low maintenance customer for a decade and they are trying to force me to pay for shipping to replace a defective piece which they own with another piece of equipment they own.

Sadly after a decade of loyalty I am now switching back to cable. I will miss the NFL ticket but I refuse to be extorted by a company I have been so loyal to for such a long time. The local cable provider will switch me to a whole home DVR system for free and the bill will be cheaper, so the only loss is the NFL Ticket which they are steadily increasing in price since I've had it. Every bar in the area offers it so it wont be a big loss but learning a new channel lineup sorta sucks.

Take it from me a long time customer....AVOID this company they will continually raise prices and try to EXTORT money from you whenever they get a chance.


Rick D.
Ephrata PA

 

[vasaaric]

Sad, but true. I bet your cable provider doesn't make you sign a two year lease agreement for service also?

 

[radsld]

No they do not and i'll be getting a free whole home dvr upgrade..... so much for the last decade of loyalty.

 

[Jimbo]

Actually, if you call and ask them to remove the $ 20 shipping fee, they usually do when its this type of situation.

Sounds like there must be more to it for you to LEAVE over $20.

The Sunday Ticket DROPPED in price this year a substantial amount.

Your Cable bill also goes up EVERY year ... don't kid yourself thinking otherwise.

 

[radsld]

The customer service agent "tried" to get it waived and could not. Offered me the Protection Plan to get it dropped but thats like $70 a year and in a decade I would have used it twice.....a horrible deal for anyone that can do some simple math (like addition)

$20 is nothing but it is their defective equipment which they will replace with their equipment. How should that make me responsible for the $20. If you rent a car and it stops working and Avis wanted you to pay to swap it out for a working one you wouldn't.

 

[Hutch1814]

The customer service agent "tried" to get it waived and could not. Offered me the Protection Plan to get it dropped but thats like $70 a year and in a decade I would have used it twice.....a horrible deal for anyone that can do some simple math (like addition)

$20 is nothing but it is their defective equipment which they will replace with their equipment. How should that make me responsible for the $20. If you rent a car and it stops working and Avis wanted you to pay to swap it out for a working one you wouldn't.

If you're leasing a car and the warranty is expired, who pays to replace/repair the car?

 

[radsld]

I rent the equipment..... not lease it..... The bill states as much.

 

[radsld]

I am not leasing the box I rent it. The bill reflects as much. Leases require a lease agreement to be valid and there is no such agreement.

 

[Hutch1814]

I am not leasing the box I rent it. The bill reflects as much. Leases require a lease agreement to be valid and there is no such agreement.

You signed a lease agreement. You signed one and a work order as well. The equipment excluding cabling and dish are leased equipment.

 

[radsld]

The bill shows a rental payment. The original lease agreement was for the receivers I was given 10 years ago. There is no such agreement for the newer equipment.

 

[texasbrit]

Why is it extortion? The terms for equipment replacement and the impact of the protection plan are well known, they are the same for you as for everyone else.

 

[radsld]

But to argue over leased or rented is a bit pointless as defective equipment, even a leased auto as you suggested, are fixed by the dealer/manufacturer. Routine maintenance and damage incurred by the leaser would paid for by the leaser. This is not wear and tear or damage caused by me. The are replacing it for free but trying to make me pay for shipping ($20) but offering to let me pay $60 a year for a protection plan I would not have used in all my years with them until now.... so for hundreds of dollars over the years I can save $20 bill to replace faulty equipment they own. Not much of deal and a shady business practice to say the least.

 

[Jimbo]

The bill shows a rental payment. The original lease agreement was for the receivers I was given 10 years ago. There is no such agreement for the newer equipment.

ALL current recvrs are LEASED, where you got the Rent idea, I have no idea.

 

[radsld]

The bill shows equipment rental ..... maybe that is where.

 

[Jimbo]

The bill shows equipment rental ..... maybe that is where.

Interesting ...

I have 4 recvrs, 1st one is free for programming, the rest are leased.
Nowhere on my bill does it say anything about is being RENTED ...
Been getting these bills for 9 years now and have not ever seen the word Rent on a bill.

 

[larry55]

go ahead and change instead bitching about it.

 

[radsld]

My apologies Larry I was under the impression that forums were places to express views both positive and negative. I stand corrected. If you don't have something nice to say about your provider do not post here. Got it. Thanks for your wonderful insight and help.

 

[JAG72]

The $20 shipping fee is nothing compared to the $50 my local cable company charges to come out to the house if you are having issues.

edit: even though I do think the $20 fee is crap.

 

[Jillian]

I don't think he is talking about a long term lease. Just a rental car for a few days or so. The car company is responsible.

 

[larry55]

I left dish after nine years and change over to direc .I left dish on good term.I didn't mean to be so hard.You have a right to voice your feeling.Just settle down and think it over.Who ever you want for your service is your business.I live out in the rural area so i don't have a choice.When we had cable in town we had good service.