? on when you can drop protection plan

[qcjoe]

My genie is freezing bad so I had to call tech support today. They deemed that I needed a trouble call. It would cost fifty bones. If I got the protection plan theres no cost except for the monthly fee and he said they would like that I keep it a year. How long do I have to keep it really?

 

[raoul5788]

It may be a year, maybe two. Whatever it is, I think there is a penalty if you cancel it early.

 

[qcjoe]

It may be a year, maybe two. Whatever it is, I think there is a penalty if you cancel it early.

I know I heard something about a ten dollar fee at some point. If thats all I dont care. If they come back and charge the fifty bucks or more then thats bad.

 

[raoul5788]

That amount sounds familiar.

 

[Jimbo]

Hmm, I didn't think there was a time frame for it, I know it was suppose to take like a week or a month before it takes effect, but I thought you could cancel it the next month if you wanted.
You don't have to have the PP at all if you don't want.

Many don't get it and figure a service call would cost less than a year of the PP.

 

[Joe Diamond]

Try it this way,
The electronic components are the expensive units; receivers and recorders are the big bucks items. They can fail new out of the box or have hidden defects you don't discover until long after they are installed. They are also covered for the first ninety days by a mfg warranty. (Recheck the 90 days part). I know they try to blame the tech for anything that goes wrong for that period. From that point on you can expect they are OK for years. Examine your home owner's insurance....you may already be covered for them. And you can budget a monthly amount to replace them...but keep the money until you need it.

Examine and test the new equipment when it goes in. Know that "refurbished" boxes are often used on service calls.

Then there is the rig, The cable, fittings and dish are pretty tough and pretty cheap. The dish has an electronic component out on the arm but it is not a big cost. Consider this stuff to be bullet proof but see if you can find a local guy who can fix this stuff. You can even do it.

Like Jimbo says..................many don't get it. And many NEVER need a service call.

Joe

 

[RLDreams]

I never had it and when I needed a new HR22 due to a lightning strike, DTV sent me a new/refurb unit no questions asked,but that was about 5 years ago. When I started having issues with my SWM16 ,I chose to take the safe route and sign up for the $10 service plan and then put up with having to reboot the SWM whenever it acted up for a month until after it took effect. That $10 saved me the $100+ for a new multiswitch. Now under the "new " service plan we are supposed to get a "free" equipment upgrade every 2 years. I'll gladly pay $100 a year to trade in my HR 21 ,HR22 for a new HR44. Another couple years and we will all be talking about the HR79.
One constant bitch long time customers have had is that DTV doesn't care and you need to jump through hoops of fire to get new equipment. It looks to me like they heard us and through the service plan they are now offering all new equipment every couple years (much like cell phone carriers). To me that is worth the $100 a year.

 

[inazsully]

Many folks keep the service plan for 2 years. Then if it craps out on you the provider can replace it for free or someone else will happily replace it with a kangaroo.

 

[Lanarian]

You have to keep it for a year. If you cancel it early, they can go back and charge you for the service calls that you werent charged for.

 

[qcjoe]

Thanks for the reply guys. I just had a tech out. They changed something outside. Ive been getting a freezing picture for about a week. I asked the tech if it was true that if I wanted to swap out a hr34 for a 44 I would have to buy it. He said hes never heard of that. He told me what ever they get on there truck is what they swap. He didnt have any this time how ever. I told him I would see if what he did fixed the issue before I swap out. Has any one heard of this?