Leaving DirecTV after 7 years. Will not pay for equipment I can't own.

[FFOGHORN]

Hi, folks.

I am leaving DirecTV after 7 years of loyal patronage. I regretfully made this decision after purchasing an HDTV for my guest bedroom and then calling DirecTV to have them switch out the 7-year-old standard receiver for a standard HD receiver. I simply will not pay for equipment I can't own. I can't verbalize exactly why, but I also can't swallow being forced into a two-year contract extension for the privilege of securing the equipment I need to utilize their service. I would prefer to pay more for the equipment on the open market. I know you can buy the equipment on services like Ebay, but I am told that DirecTV will still code the activation as a lease and lock you into another two-year term. This is just outrageous. When I had cable, they simply gave me the equipment (it had to be returned upon termination of the service).

This company is seriously into profiteering lately. Apparently, they believe there should be no cost to doing business. They want to pass all costs onto the customer. They also offer better deals to new customers than they do to long standing customers.

Factor in their deceptive advertising, legal actions taken by all US State Attornies General, and a lawsuit (ultimately dropped) by Comcast, and DirecTV is no longer a company I want to support, even with their superior technology and programming.


What do you all think? It's really not an issue until you need updated equipment.

 

[Jimbo]

Hi, folks.

I am leaving DirecTV after 7 years of loyal patronage. I regretfully made this decision after purchasing an HDTV for my guest bedroom and then calling DirecTV to have them switch out the 7-year-old standard receiver for a standard HD receiver. I simply will not pay for equipment I can't own. I can't verbalize exactly why, but I also can't swallow being forced into a two-year contract extension for the privilege of securing the equipment I need to utilize their service. I would prefer to pay more for the equipment on the open market. I know you can buy the equipment on services like Ebay, but I am told that DirecTV will still code the activation as a lease and lock you into another two-year term. This is just outrageous. When I had cable, they simply gave me the equipment (it had to be returned upon termination of the service).

This company is seriously into profiteering lately. Apparently, they believe there should be no cost to doing business. They want to pass all costs onto the customer. They also offer better deals to new customers than they do to long standing customers.

Factor in their deceptive advertising, legal actions taken by all US State Attornies General, and a lawsuit (ultimately dropped) by Comcast, and DirecTV is no longer a company I want to support, even with their superior technology and programming.


What do you all think? It's really not an issue until you need updated equipment.

I think owning a piece opf equipment this day and age with technology changing as fast as it does would be a very BAD idea.

I use to OWN all my equipment, not anymore and I'm very glad about it.

IF I spent $4-500 on a recvr and it went bad, I'M OUT that money.
Leasing, if that box goes out, I call D* and they send me another one.

I didn't like the idea when it first started in '06, but I really like the idea now.

Fwiw, you CAN buy them, they are just very expensive ...

Back in the day when the HR20's first came out they were listed around $ 850.

 

[Hutch1814]

I'm not sure who your local provider is but I know the comcast office here and bright house networks here both charge for an upgrade and then you still pay a lease fee. Comcast sometimes require a 24 month agreement as well (from what comcast employees have told me) as far local cable companies prices they could be good or better but it seems like anymore if you want more then 3 lines hooked up it's going to cost you. I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with you because everybody has their opinion but I can say I understand how you feel.

 

[raoul5788]

First off, to Satelliteguys!

I think you have some misconceptions as to how the lease/owned process works. If you get an owned receiver/dvr from eBay or wherever, it will be marked as owned by Directv. The last I knew there is no commitment for activating an owned box. It will be yours to do with as you please if and when you leave Directv. If it's an additional box, it will still cost you $6/month regardless if you own it or lease it. Don't believe anyone that claims to have an owned box. Get the RID from them and ask Directv if it's owned or not. The bottom line is that you will pay a lot more for an owned box compared to a leased one, so if you are staying with Directv for two years anyway why buy it. Another possibility is to call and tell them you want to cancel. That may get you an hd box for free since that department has more latitude, but there would still be a commitment involved.

 

[bbixler]

Hi, folks.

I am leaving DirecTV after 7 years of loyal patronage. I regretfully made this decision after purchasing an HDTV for my guest bedroom and then calling DirecTV to have them switch out the 7-year-old standard receiver for a standard HD receiver. I simply will not pay for equipment I can't own. I can't verbalize exactly why, but I also can't swallow being forced into a two-year contract extension for the privilege of securing the equipment I need to utilize their service. I would prefer to pay more for the equipment on the open market. I know you can buy the equipment on services like Ebay, but I am told that DirecTV will still code the activation as a lease and lock you into another two-year term. This is just outrageous. When I had cable, they simply gave me the equipment (it had to be returned upon termination of the service).

This company is seriously into profiteering lately. Apparently, they believe there should be no cost to doing business. They want to pass all costs onto the customer. They also offer better deals to new customers than they do to long standing customers.

Factor in their deceptive advertising, legal actions taken by all US State Attornies General, and a lawsuit (ultimately dropped) by Comcast, and DirecTV is no longer a company I want to support, even with their superior technology and programming.


What do you all think? It's really not an issue until you need updated equipment.

The standard HD receiver will cost you $6 per month with Direct TV. How much per month will a standard HD receiver cost you with cable?

 

[JerseyMatt]

The standard HD receiver will cost you $6 per month with Direct TV. How much per month will a standard HD receiver cost you with cable?

At least that. And don't forget, the remote you need for that cable box is an extra itemized fee.

At $6 per month, one box costs you $144 over the term of the 2 year contract. I'll bet anything that the receivers you own cost you a lot more than that when you bought them.

 

[charper1]

Joined today, 1st post and POW. Don't take the bait. OP, enjoy your cable TV experience.

 

[Hutch1814]

Joined today, 1st post and POW. Don't take the bait. OP, enjoy your cable TV experience.

Ouch, we got owned

 

[Jimbo]

Joined today, 1st post and POW. Don't take the bait. OP, enjoy your cable TV experience.

Ouch, we got owned

Hmmmm, What I can't figure out is, he joined today, says he's LEAVING D* in this very first post ....
If he's LEAVING D* and JUST now joined here, WHY did he post he was leaving D* ?

I think he's fishing :fish2:

 

[navychop]

To take it straight: I am a Dish customer. Dish usually, but not always, charges an upfront fee to lease. And a two year commitment, with ETFs. This is the nature of leasing, and not just satcos. New customers may get a better deal. And I daresay, satco receivers are a bit more advanced than what you'll get from a cableco. And in my experience, satco service has been FAR more reliable than cableco service. YMMV.

Read the above posts carefully. And then read them again. There is wisdom there.

 

[DS0816]

If it's about the equipment, I have to say that there is disappointment nearly everywhere. No matter the company. Usually one should choose a provider for the programming to be the No. 1 priority.

 

[ProfStata]

To the OP, why whine about leaving? Why should we care that you're leaving, especially when you don't have any ties to the message board? Just leave if you don't like the service. You don't have to write a farewell letter on a message board. That's what DirecTV's Facebook page is for.

 

[peano]

You can buy an owned DIRECTV HDPVR from a former employee or ebay. No commitment. That is what I did.

 

[Ronnie-]

You can buy an owned DIRECTV HDPVR from a former employee or ebay. No commitment. That is what I did.

Thing about that is, it is hard to near impossible to tell if the box you are getting is owned or leased (90+% of them) until you activate it.
Buying on ebay and expecting an owned box is taking your chances.

 

[Rey]

Thing about that is, it is hard to near impossible to tell if the box you are getting is owned or leased (90+% of them) until you activate it.
Buying on ebay and expecting an owned box is taking your chances.

agreed 100%! so if you decide the ebay route, always get the RID# before you bid or buy it now. call or email directv and they will tell you if it's leased or owned and if it can be activated on your account.

 

[Rey]

Joined today, 1st post and POW. Don't take the bait. OP, enjoy your cable TV experience.

BAM!!!

 

[peano]

Thing about that is, it is hard to near impossible to tell if the box you are getting is owned or leased (90+% of them) until you activate it.
Buying on ebay and expecting an owned box is taking your chances.

Not hard at all:

.......so if you decide the ebay route, always get the RID# before you bid or buy it now. call or email directv and they will tell you if it's leased or owned and if it can be activated on your account.

 

[Ronnie-]

Perhaps I should change the hard statement to "time consuming" with no guarantee that you will actually find an owned box?

 

[Bogy]

Funny! In 1995 I subscribed to Primestar. I chose Primestar because it had better/more complete programming than Directv, which was only a year old (Dish wasn't even in the picture at that time), and you didn't have to buy equipment, so it had a much lower upfront cost. For those of you whose memories of satellite delivered television don't go back to Primestar, it was started by a group of cableco's. Primestar also had a significantly superior picture than Directv. In 1999 Directv bought out Primestar. At or about that time I joined a predecessor to...some other forum...which was a predecessor to this one, trying to figure out if I wanted to be converted to DirecTV, or jump to Dish, which was around by that time. One of my concerns, having a wife and daughter in college at that time, was whether I would have to buy my equipment when I was converted or went to Dish. I was ridiculed by the majority of forum members, who stated that they would never lease equipment, owning your own was the only way to go. So it is interesting to me today that the majority opinion in this thread in the past few days is that leasing makes more sense than owning.

BTW, I went with DirecTV, who offered those being converted the option of leasing equipment under the same terms they had with Primestar. Glad I did, because a year later I moved to the Omaha area, where I subbed to Cox cable for a TV/internet/phone bundle (Omaha Cox, at least while I was there, is still the best Cableco I ever had experience with). Moved to a small town in Iowa four years later and signed up for an similar bundle with Mediacom. Wasn't nearly as satisfied, especially with the way they kept jacking up my cost, so two years ago I finally signed up for Dish. Glad I didn't have to buy equipment, because next week I'm going back to DirecTV, with a whole house system. With leased equipment, of course, since I have no idea where I will be 2 years from now, and what will be the best option at that time.

 

[Rey]

Perhaps I should change the hard statement to "time consuming" with no guarantee that you will actually find an owned box?

yeah i went through quite a few before i found an owned one. so if you're willing to do a little work you'll find them owned on ebay but like smith said it wont be easy.but it can be done. when you send the RID# to directv , if they say its ok then its a guarantee you can activate the dvr or receiver on your account.