Free Starz for Hurricane Ike

[RobbinM]

I received a flyer from Directv in mail indicating that I would get Starz for 3 months free, starting November 1st.

"We offer you 3 FREE months of Starz as a token of our support and gratitude. We hope this makes your difficult time just a bit easier to handle."

I hadn't heard that this offer was coming -- I assume others around Houston are getting the same thing.

I left town for the storm so satellite access wasn't a big deal. I did have my DVR reset and lose all my timers and stored programs while I was gone.

 

[OTAHDFORME]

I received a flyer from Directv in mail indicating that I would get Starz for 3 months free, starting November 1st.

"We offer you 3 FREE months of Starz as a token of our support and gratitude. We hope this makes your difficult time just a bit easier to handle."

I hadn't heard that this offer was coming -- I assume others around Houston are getting the same thing.

I left town for the storm so satellite access wasn't a big deal. I did have my DVR reset and lose all my timers and stored programs while I was gone.

Did they actually turn it on? We got the same notice regarding Free Showtime for three months starting November 1. They haven't turned it on yet ... even after several phone calls to them asking about it. They confirmed that if we got the letter we should get it, but they had no explanation about why it wasn't done yet.

Has anyone who was offered these free goodies actually seen them yet?

 

[RobbinM]

The same thing with me. The offer hasn't been added to my account yet.

They confirm that it should be turned on and they don't know why it isn't. The CSR did give me $5 off a month for 3 months since she couldn't help me.

There must be a bunch of people from the Gulf coast in this forum -- I'm surprised that more comment hasn't been made.

 

[rodin]

Mine was for Showtime -- Not on for me either, yet. It did state that it would be "Automatically Activated" on 11/1/08 and automatically suspend on 1/31/09 though... Good job DirecTV, you promise on something but forget to deliver.

 

[Anchor]

I got the same letter as well as a friend of mine here in Houston. Neither of us got it turned on automatically (Showtime) on November 1st. I called customer service and she had her manager help her and they turned it on for me on 11/5. She said it will expire on 2/5/09, so I'll get the full 3 months.

 

[OTAHDFORME]

I got the same letter as well as a friend of mine here in Houston. Neither of us got it turned on automatically (Showtime) on November 1st. I called customer service and she had her manager help her and they turned it on for me on 11/5. She said it will expire on 2/5/09, so I'll get the full 3 months.

After I posted earlier this evening, we checked STARZ since the OP mentioned STARZ instead of SHOWTIME. Amazingly, STARZ is turned on even though it wasn't a few days ago.

 

[Sancho]

I got the Showtime card and it hasn't been turned on and isn't listed on my account. I emailed customer service and got a response saying that it should be active starting 11/5 but as of now it still isn't on.

I hate to call and whine considering it supposed to be free, but they offered without asking and should follow through.

 

[RobbinM]

The ad I received

Here is the flyer. November 1st is clearly indicated.

 

[Sancho]

A 2nd email to Customer Service got my free Showtime up and running. They updated my account and sent a signal reset to my box and all is well!

 

[rodin]

Now I checked my Starz tonight, and it works now -- Last night it didn't.. Although my card stated free Showtime, i'd much rather Starz anyway.. they must not have kept up with who they emailed which cards to... The other person I know that got the Showtime card is now getting Showtime, TMC, Starz, Encore all for free for 3 months..

 

[OTAHDFORME]

Starz posted to my online account as of 11/6/08 ($0.00) and Showtime posted 11/7/08 ($0.00.) I certainly never expected the free package, but once they offered, I expected them to follow through.

It's encouraging to know that they made up for the delay by adding another package. It is unfortunate for them that something they volunteered to do was causing them to look bad because they didn't have the details worked out in order to make it happen on time.

It really seemed strange that they could manage to target customers in a certain area with letters, but couldn't seem to figure out how to flip the switch for that same group of customers.

 

[RobbinM]

Finally!

I also had the free Starz applied to my account today.

 

[rodin]

I think what had happened here is that DirecTV sent out postcards to everyone (obviously) in the areas affected, but failed to take note of which cards they sent which customers, so they just had to activate both showtime and starz. My account shows Starz activated on 11/6 and Showtime activated on 11/7.

I would like to THANK D* for their generosity, something no cable company would ever do! We are currently living in our travel trailer due to our home getting 7 feet of water from IKE's Surge. Having access to some movie channels while we rebuild our home is a very nice gesture, and i've already found a few things to watch. I'll E-Mail D* as well to thank them for their generosity. Although it was glitchy at first, they did come through.. I, like most of ya'll, didn't even expect anything for free from anyone, not waiting for handouts, but the thoughtfulness of D* during the tough times for some folks is something that will go a looooong way with me. I've been w/ D* for 11 years now. Will continue to be with them for quite a long time to come!

 

[OTAHDFORME]

Hmmm ... they giveth and they taketh away. We still have Showtime (the original offer) but Starz is no longer available. I can't complain about the free Showtime, but it sure has been an unusual ride.

 

[rodin]

I noticed that too, but it hasn't shown up as disconnected on my account yet, which is very strange. I know having the Western channel made my grandparents decide to purchase the Starz package, lol.