Activating used receiver = contract extension?

[Dingo5]

I purchased a used DVR from Craigslist. I called DTV and confirmed that the box was not leased and did not have a balance. I paid DTV $20 for a new card and activated the box. Everything seemed to work fine.

I received my bill in the mail and saw that they are charging me for an additional "leased" box even though I purchased the DVR from someone that owned it. So I called DTV and I was told that by activating the box it automatically became the property of DTV and now I was leasing it from them. This does not seem legal.

The bigger issue however is that the customer service person said that my contract was extended an additional 2 years because I add new equipment to my account. Again, this does not seem right. DTV did not give me a NEW receiver for free in exchange for me agreeing to a new 2 year contract. Rather, I paid $75 out of my pocket for a 3 year old used DVR. If I was going to be stuck with a leased receiver and 2 year contract, I would have demanded a new HD DVR from DTV.

Is the customer service person correct? Can DTV steal my DVR and extend my contract simply because I activated it?

Thanks

 

[dishrich]

ANYTIME you activate a new card on your account, you automatically get your contract extended 2 years, regardless if the receiver in question is new or used.
But no, if if is NOT a leased box, it should be marked as such - you need to call back in & asked to be x-ferred to the access card dept, as they are the ONLY people that can change this.

Hate to tell you this, but you probably should have done more research on this - if you had called D* first, they would have probably given you a NEW HD DVR for free, or next to nothing. Yes, it would be leased, but it's STILL $5 extra a month regardless if it's leased or owned, if it's an additional box. Also if it breaks, D* will replace it for just S&H.

 

[Joe Diamond]

The other way around...........I tried to replace a dead RCA with another old Hughes. Surprise, surprise it wouldn;t load. Tried two different CSRs. One said it wouldn't work and the second one tried and it wouldn't load. They both said I was qualified for new receivers but there would be a one year commitment. So I have a dead receiver I am paying $5.00 per month while I tink a bit.

Joe (still tinkin)

 

[Dingo5]

It seems to me that this is something they should disclose when they were taking my $20 for a new activation card. I'm going to demand they send me a new HD DVR. The used one I bought does not even work with the new HD channels. I'm sure they would have sent me a new one if I had asked or if they had offered when I told them I was thinking about getting a used DVR receiver. I was just hoping to avoid another contract. And if they refuse to send me a new DVR, my used "leased" DVR may accidentialy stop working and need replacement.