Why does D* charge to lease a receiver

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davethis

Active SatelliteGuys Member
Original poster
Sep 4, 2006
16
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Bay Area, CA
So I am going to upgrading to the HR20 (but not till December or January) but why does D* charge an upfront cost (i.e. the $299) to lease a receiver you have to sent back?

Maybe the answer is "because they can" or "they want to make more $$" but if we can not keep the box why do the charge for it. I mean it not like we can use the receiver without D* service.

Maybe this has already been discussed but I could not find the answer.
 
The charge for the lease is the same as the mirror fee everyone pays on every receiver after the first one, when you pay the lease fee, the mirror fee is no longer charged to the account (the lease fee replaces the mirror fee, which is the same cost), so they are not making more money via this fee, to boot, when you lease, the receiver is covered for replacment. When you own, you must pay the protection plan to get that. The upfront cost is nowhere near the actual cost, that 299 is subsidized by D*, you pay a lease fee, just like you might do for a car.
 
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Lease Fee

damaged said:
The charge for the lease is the same as the mirror fee everyone pays on every receiver after the first one, when you pay the lease fee, the mirror fee is no longer charged to the account (the lease fee replaces the mirror fee, which is the same cost), so they are not making more money via this fee, to boot, when you lease, the receiver is covered for replacment. When you own, you must pay the protection plan to get that. The upfront cost is nowhere near the actual cost, that 299 is subsidized by D*, you pay a lease fee, just like you might do for a car.


I just had the HR20-700 and the 5 LNB dish installed, under the lease agreement. I asked the installer(Bluegrass Directv) if my HR20 would be replaced if the box went bad, under the lease agreement...he handed me a paper to sign, stating that the HR20 and the new dish, is covered for 90 days, from date of install, under the lease agreement. He asked me if I wanted to sign up for the $5.99, a month Protection Plan, that would cover all replacements or adjustments? I stated that I thought that was what the lease agreement would cover and that I would have to contact Directv, to make sure that this the way the lease agreement truly works, as I have many friends that assume that the lease agreement means, if anything goes wrong with the leased HR20, Directv will replace it at no charge, at any time. Contacting D* to find out how this leasing really works because, so far, I have heard 2 different stories and confusion is not good for anyone. :)
 
Lease Fee

Thanks damaged :), you have returned me to my PeaceOfMind:). I didn't think the installer knew what he was talking about but I never like to disagree with a guy that is aligning my new dish...kind of like never disagreeing with the cook that is preparing your meal:). It is good to know that the lease covers replacement or repair of the new SAT boxes. Thanks again damaged:)
 
PeaceOfMind said:
Thanks damaged :), you have returned me to my PeaceOfMind:). I didn't think the installer knew what he was talking about but I never like to disagree with a guy that is aligning my new dish...kind of like never disagreeing with the cook that is preparing your meal:). It is good to know that the lease covers replacement or repair of the new SAT boxes. Thanks again damaged:)

No problem, good luck. :)

By the way, the 'lease' fee is waived on the first receiver (as is the mirror fee for owned equipment).
 
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Bluegrass is telling their customers that I think. They told me the same thing. Also the paper they wanted you to sign up for the coverage was a bluegrass paper and not a D* paper.. I think its their coverage and they are trying to push it with the D* lease also.
 
Davethis, you probably will not have to pay $299 for the HR20, either...No real way to predict what they will charge you. You'll just have to call and find out, but it could be anything from free to $199--that's the most I've heard lately, once programming discounts are taken into account.
 
damaged said:
The charge for the lease is the same as the mirror fee everyone pays on every receiver after the first one, when you pay the lease fee, the mirror fee is no longer charged to the account (the lease fee replaces the mirror fee, which is the same cost), so they are not making more money via this fee, to boot, when you lease, the receiver is covered for replacment. When you own, you must pay the protection plan to get that. The upfront cost is nowhere near the actual cost, that 299 is subsidized by D*, you pay a lease fee, just like you might do for a car.

damaged said:
By the way, the 'lease' fee is waived on the first receiver (as is the mirror fee for owned equipment).

If the lease fee is waived, then why are they charging for it?
 
mkatts said:
If the lease fee is waived, then why are they charging for it?

They aren't, I do not pay a fee on my 1st receiver, just the 2nd and 3rd, if you are being charged for the first receiver in your account, you need to call them and straighten it out.
 
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What I mean is, if I want to upgrade to the HR20, I have to pay between $199-299 up front for the "lease" fee. If the lease fee is replacing the mirror fee and there is no mirror or lease fee on the first reciever, then why are thy charging the lease fee? I am not understanding the logic to that.

It would make more sense if they just left out the part about the lease fee replacing the mirror fee. I own both of my current boxes, but I am planning on getting the HR20 at the end of Oct. I don't mind paying the $299 upfront for the lease. But since there is never a mirror fee on the first reciever anyway and I own my SD TIVO, i will still pay the $5 mirror fee on the SD Tivo that will get moved upstairs, correct? Or that what is waived? So I will not pay any mirror fee at all after going to the HR20?
 
You will pay the mirror(lease) fee on the second receiver and any receivers beyond the first. The 199-299 is an upgrade fee for an advanced technology receiver.
 
"What I mean is, if I want to upgrade to the HR20, I have to pay between $199-299 up front for the "lease" fee. If the lease fee is replacing the mirror fee and there is no mirror or lease fee on the first reciever, then why are thy charging the lease fee? I am not understanding the logic to that."

Call them and see what sort of deal they give you. If you pay $199 or more, you'll be in the minority.

They give deals to out-of-contract customers in order to retain them, and they give deals to newbies like me to encourage us to spend lots of money.

I've got 22 months left on my two years and my HR20 and dish are basically free, considering the billing and programming discounts they gave me.
 
I have only called once so far, and the lady would not move from the $299. I plan on calling more, but when I have the money to do it. That will be at the end of October.
 
PeaceOfMind said:
It is good to know that the lease covers replacement or repair of the new SAT boxes.

Has anyone called D* to verify this? I do not think the lease covers it, becuase if it did, why does D* offer a protection plan (http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/global/contentPage.jsp?assetId=900030)?

On that page it states that the protection plan covers:
Covering the cost associated with replacing defective equipment, including remotes and receivers.
 
davethis said:
Has anyone called D* to verify this? I do not think the lease covers it, becuase if it did, why does D* offer a protection plan (http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/global/contentPage.jsp?assetId=900030)?

On that page it states that the protection plan covers:
Covering the cost associated with replacing defective equipment, including remotes and receivers.

Right, the prot plan gets everything (the lease only covers the STB), the reason it mentions 'receivers' still (depsite the lease fee covering it), is because people still own receivers, so someone who is pre-lease (owns), can get their own receiver covered.

Post #5 shows where the lease covers the receiver only, they also have the prot plan if you lease in case you want your dish and switch and all that covered too.
 
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"I have only called once so far, and the lady would not move from the $299. I plan on calling more, but when I have the money to do it. That will be at the end of October."

If it had required MONEY, I probably would not have done it yet either...

But the reps at DTV worked their billing magic and are adding it to, then subtracting it from, my bill over a few months.

Net result is my third month bill, after adding the HR20 and Superfan package, will be $10 less than my second month's bill!
 
damaged said:
Right, the prot plan gets everything (the lease only covers the STB),...
Post #5 shows where the lease covers the receiver only, they also have the prot plan if you lease in case you want your dish and switch and all that covered too.

I was wondering this also. So I just called DTV and asked the direct question of 'After 90 days, is leased boxes still covered if they break'. The CSR said only if you buy the protection plan. I asked what does their FAQ mean when it says 'Leasing also permits affordable upgrades and free replacement receivers.' She didn't have a real answer, just that she was 'sure' your leased box is not 100% covered for the 2 years.

Does anyone have an actual fine print agreement where it says your box is covered for 2 years (or the length of your contact)? That FAQ statement is extremely vague and I'm leaning toward the CSR as being correct.
 
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