new replacement receiver, any catches

[retiredengineer]

Just received a letter stating that DirecTV will upgrade my old Hughes SD receiver at no additional cost or commitment extension. It says in the fine print that I have to pay a leasing fee which I don't now since I own the old receiver.

Is that the only catch, the leasing fee? I don't want to end up with a nasty surprise such as the CSR saying I have a new 2 yr commitment so I have to pay an ETF if I want to cancel DirecTV. Those CSRs' sometimes are not completely honest.

Has anybody else received such a letter, made the swap, and got a nasty surprise?

 

[jcrandall]

Should be no commitment if DirecTV chose to replace the receiver, thus the letter. Odds are you have a sports package or something that won't work on the old receiver. They dropped 700's channels from the old SD receivers because the guide data got too big.

You pay $5 now for an "Additional receiver" fee, with the new one you'll pay the same $5, as "Leased Receiver" fee. Either way, no difference in price.

 

[scoop8]

I recently replaced an older Sony AT-4 box with the D11 box. No commitment extension, no problem.