One thing I hate about DirecTV

[Doppel]

I got my DTV a year back, with one year left on my commitment. I have a few receivers, one of which was SD (which is complete sh*t, I can't believe we used to live like this, people). I called yesterday to upgrade just that one SD receiver to HD and:

1) $100 equipment cost
2) $6 lease fee, which replaces the lease fee on the SD
3) RESETS the 2 year commitment

I don't know why I have to partially buy the equipment AND lease, but anyway to reset the 2 year commitment is complete sh*t and there is literally nothing I can do except put up with it or keep the SD receiver (in which case I'd rather not watch TV at all).

BTW, you can buy these things outright and they are $399 since dtv obviously doesn't really want to sell them. Of course, if I do cancel I send the equipment back anyway.

 

[ScoobMaster]

Bummer that you have a year left on your contract. If you didn't, the easy answer would be to cancel your service. I'll explain:

I had DirecTV for 7 years and loved the service and picture quality - until the price just got out of hand. (I was paying over $80/month with NO premium channels). Like you, I wanted to upgrade my remaining SD receiver and was floored by the cost I had to shell out for a "leased" receiver. I tried to reason with them and pointed to my uninterrupted 7 years of being a loyal customer - to no avail. That was the final straw - I cancelled and bought two Roku boxes and have not looked back.

Of course a week *AFTER* I cancelled the offers to "get me back" (including FREE HD DVR receivers and $29.99/month for a year) came pouring in.

This is what burns me up with marketing - I understand that you want to offer enticing deals to snag new customers, but for Pete's sake, REWARD your LOYAL customers too!!!!!!

 

[CPA]

There is a way to get that receiver free. Google it. There's an email address to request a 4-digit offer code you can use with a customer service rep. YMMV. I've done it once, but it took a few calls to get it done right. It was also about two years ago so not sure if they still do it.

 

[Elganja]

talk to a different csr, everyone one is different. a lot of times, you can get deals like free hd for 12 months, or a 10 dollar credit for 12 months, etc..

At any given time, I usually have ~30 dollars in credits every month on my account.

 

[Josh123]

I got my DTV a year back, with one year left on my commitment. I have a few receivers, one of which was SD (which is complete sh*t, I can't believe we used to live like this, people). I called yesterday to upgrade just that one SD receiver to HD and:

1) $100 equipment cost
2) $6 lease fee, which replaces the lease fee on the SD
3) RESETS the 2 year commitment

I don't know why I have to partially buy the equipment AND lease, but anyway to reset the 2 year commitment is complete sh*t and there is literally nothing I can do except put up with it or keep the SD receiver (in which case I'd rather not watch TV at all).

BTW, you can buy these things outright and they are $399 since dtv obviously doesn't really want to sell them. Of course, if I do cancel I send the equipment back anyway.

Ya, what's shitty about is they don't tell you that it will renew your contract. I had this happen in the past.

 

[nace186]

You suck at social engineering.

 

[rudder]

This is what burns me up with marketing - I understand that you want to offer enticing deals to snag new customers, but for Pete's sake, REWARD your LOYAL customers too!!!!!!

Companies rely on those loyal customers to be lazy and never switch service. It is not just directv. Direct rates are going up 4% in february so I am do the cancel and re-up with offers thing. If not, I will just get dish or watch the networks... football will be over then.

 

[bearxor]

I'm just going to throw this out there... Have you tried craigslist? I see receivers on there all the time in Charlotte area for $50 or less for even HD capable ones. Then you'll just need to get a new access card from DTV.

Also, have you tried a 3rd party like Solid Signal? They may be able to hook you up with a new leased receiver without much hassle.

 

[lokiju]

Wow. I'm contract free from the get go on Dish and never paid anything up front for my HD DVR, only the monthly lease fee.

I refuse to sign contracts for TV and internet service. These are things that I think you should look into a few times a year for better service or prices and switch as needed.

While Dish has been ok overall and really cheap for what I get, I'm still trying to get to the point where I can drop all TV providers and go only Roku or something like that.

I have a Roku, have owned a Apple TV 2, use my PS3 and my Samsung bluray player with its "Samsung Apps" that have Hulu, Netflix and others but my biggest issue is nothing has all the shows I care about. I like Discovery channel for one thing and no one seems to have a way to stream their content.

I want to be legit with my media consumption but it sure is hard to find a solution that encourages it at all times sadly.

 

[SunnyD]

BTW, you can buy these things outright and they are $399 since dtv obviously doesn't really want to sell them. Of course, if I do cancel I send the equipment back anyway.

And the funny thing is even if you buy it outright, they still charge you the lease fee monthly AND reset your contract date for another 2 years. And they'll also give you hell if you cancel and not return the receiver even though you own it.

 

[JTsyo]

Bummer that you have a year left on your contract. If you didn't, the easy answer would be to cancel your service. I'll explain:

I had DirecTV for 7 years and loved the service and picture quality - until the price just got out of hand. (I was paying over $80/month with NO premium channels). Like you, I wanted to upgrade my remaining SD receiver and was floored by the cost I had to shell out for a "leased" receiver. I tried to reason with them and pointed to my uninterrupted 7 years of being a loyal customer - to no avail. That was the final straw - I cancelled and bought two Roku boxes and have not looked back.

Of course a week *AFTER* I cancelled the offers to "get me back" (including FREE HD DVR receivers and $29.99/month for a year) came pouring in.

This is what burns me up with marketing - I understand that you want to offer enticing deals to snag new customers, but for Pete's sake, REWARD your LOYAL customers too!!!!!!

Can you get broadcast channels on the Roku boxes?

 

[alent1234]

some you can. depending on your total cable/internet cost it may be cheaper to go a la carte, get apple tv/roku and buy a few shows to watch and just pay for netflix/amazon/hulu for general couch surfing

 

[bearxor]

I've gone DirecTV's full package and still use Sickbeard/SAB to download everything I watch. This way I don't feel bad because I am paying for it, but still choose to download it to distribute it throughout my house as I prefer.

Boxee Box is my player of choice. Roku was a hunk of junk and the Apple TV was just too much trouble.

 

[Newbian]

And the funny thing is even if you buy it outright, they still charge you the lease fee monthly AND reset your contract date for another 2 years. And they'll also give you hell if you cancel and not return the receiver even though you own it.

The thing is you didn't buy it as last I checked the price they give you is a reduced price to lease it as long as you are a customer of theirs but when you stop the service that usually ends the time you can use the product.

 

[FoBoT]

the DirecTV iPad app is pretty awesome, they just added some more channels

 

[Doppel]

the DirecTV iPad app is pretty awesome, they just added some more channels

But for some reason it won't let us stream dvred shows. If it let that it would be an incredible win.

Full disclosure the 100 is online price. For some reason the cs rep gave me this one for50plus 20 shipping handling. Really does not change the greater picture though. I am now starting year two of bitch and moan gonna cancel or else discount from my internet provider and was looking forward to that with dtv but now must wait two more years before I threaten to leave...

Still peeved that there is no genuinely good option to get all I want over the Internet, even if willing to pay. I guess we an hope that in two years roil or similar will have a media box with total content options but I doubt it.

 

[Imported]

I may just cancel DirecTV after my first year is up. Two-year contract, the ETF would be cheaper than paying 2 months worth of service. Moving in a few months anyways so I could have the GF sign up I guess if I want the service again..

 

[Ronstang]

The more I hear about satellite the happier I am that I have cable.

 

[LiuKangBakinPie]

Its too Direct

 

[Doppel]

The more I hear about satellite the happier I am that I have cable.

Problem with cable for me is they are using 1964 technology.

 

[KentState]

I would attempt to switch to cable, but does Comcast still have their shitty UI?

 

[Karl Agathon]

The more I hear about satellite the happier I am that I have cable.

Thats interesting, because I have the exact opposite thoughts. Dont get me wrong, I dont think directTV is perfect, but the equipment and GUI alone are light years better then cable.

 

[Doppel]

I would attempt to switch to cable, but does Comcast still have their shitty UI?

Dunno, but time warner does. It's completely beyond my understanding how people still tolerate it. I don't want to understand, though, because it would put me in a dark place of hate of mankind.

Don't get me wrong, I like DirecTV, I just hate this equipment upgrade crap.

 

[shortylickens]

One thing?
:hmm:

 

[Doppel]

One thing?
:hmm:

I can go all night, I start out easy can I do this yes can I do this yes, by the end it's a home run of stuff I hate :thumbsup: