Protection Plan - worth or not

[Ashland1381]

I have the standard protection plan with HD DVR - about two years old and a
an HR20-600 about three years old. Is the small dollar amount for the protection plan worth it. If something breaks, I can replace with an 'upgrade' - NEWER DVR, NEWER Receiver, leaving only the dish and the inside box.

The protection plan is $59.88 per year. One service call will make up be more than that for D to come and replace dish etc.

Protection plan worth or not ????

Thanks

 

[Ashland1381]

Protection plan - change

I meant to say in my original post, the inside box = multiswitch.
Getting old is a problem tooooo

 

[Neutron]

I have it but may cancel it. We have 2 HD-DVR boxes and one is so slow its unreal. Directv refuses to send anyone out or replace it unless it's out completely.

 

[Jimbo]

I feel the PP is very worth it.
If you need anything replaced, it's done.
Without the PP, there is usually a fee associated with it.
With the PP if I have a rec go bad, they replace it, without it , I pay for it.

Jimbo

 

[talos4]

I have it and have had to take advantage of it for equipment replacement, The last couple times were for two LNB's damaged due to nearby lightning strikes the last two years.

To me it's insurance, just like your home, bike, car etc. Nobody likes sending in that premium payment, but, when you need it, it's good to have.

In tougher times it is one of things you could eliminate to bring the monthly cost down without effecting your actual service.

BTW, you can only upgrade so far, once you have the latest gear where do you go from there?

I'm sure vurbano will be chiming in on the PP. He'll present the other side of the argument.

 

[slls]

I have had no PP since 2006 when I became a sub with D*, I think I am ahead. I don't own the receivers so D* has to replace them no charge, shipping only. I really like there service, came and hooked up locals, all new setup no charge. Then few months later came and added another receiver, no charge except monthly fee and turned on HD. got HD free for 1 year.

 

[Rey]

i don't have it because you're already paying a lease fee. if something happens to your dvr or receiver, directv still replaces these items free since they are leased. all you would pay is shipping. if my lnb were to ever go bad i would just purchase one over ebay and replace it myself. cheaper to me than paying for PP. besides when i signed up for D, the swm lnb's weren't out yet so I ended up buying one anyways.

 

[Ashland1381]

Insurance

I see the point about insurance. I don't do ladders so fixing the dish would not
be my best action.

Good replies from all, thanks very much.

 

[thetech2009]

i don't have it because you're already paying a lease fee. if something happens to your dvr or receiver, directv still replaces these items free since they are leased. all you would pay is shipping. if my lnb were to ever go bad i would just purchase one over ebay and replace it myself. cheaper to me than paying for PP. besides when i signed up for D, the swm lnb's weren't out yet so I ended up buying one anyways.

so what do you do when you have a rat chew on your cable in the attic and cant figure out why you keep seeing your reciever flicker the seaching for sat signal, or you miss half of a game. spend 2 or 3 days troubleshooting it yourself and give up call for a service call and spend the $90 for it.... I think not.

 

[Rey]

so what do you do when you have a rat chew on your cable in the attic and cant figure out why you keep seeing your reciever flicker the seaching for sat signal, or you miss half of a game. spend 2 or 3 days troubleshooting it yourself and give up call for a service call and spend the $90 for it.... I think not.

i do it myself. and no it wouldn't take me a few days to figure it out, i don't have rats and i don't have an attic. i posted my reasons for not having it. works for me,never said the idea works for everyone. in 12 years i have never called for service,never will

 

[bobvick]

I had the protection plan, but then canceled it. I have recently started it again as I added a HR21PRO to my system and since the Pro is owned, I have read where D* will not replace it for free unless I have the plan.
Also, I have had some temporary problems with the dish in extremely cold weather this winter, so it may be worth it if something goes wrong with a LNB.

 

[Jimbo]

so what do you do when you have a rat chew on your cable in the attic and cant figure out why you keep seeing your reciever flicker the seaching for sat signal, or you miss half of a game. spend 2 or 3 days troubleshooting it yourself and give up call for a service call and spend the $90 for it.... I think not.

fwiw, D* is not going to be there to fix it the same day in most cases.
I do my own troubleshooting as well, but I do not have spare dish LNB's floating around and why should I go out and BUY an LNB when they will cover it if you have the PP anyways.

I had the protection plan, but then canceled it. I have recently started it again as I added a HR21PRO to my system and since the Pro is owned, I have read where D* will not replace it for free unless I have the plan.
Also, I have had some temporary problems with the dish in extremely cold weather this winter, so it may be worth it if something goes wrong with a LNB.

Exactly !
You've pinpointed the BIGGEST reason to have the PP, sure D* will cover the rec. replacements, but they will charge for new cable, dish/lnb ect. if you DON'T have the PP plan.

Someone else also mentioned "look at it like insurance". :up

Jimbo

 

[Rey]

I had the protection plan, but then canceled it. I have recently started it again as I added a HR21PRO to my system and since the Pro is owned, I have read where D* will not replace it for free unless I have the plan.
Also, I have had some temporary problems with the dish in extremely cold weather this winter, so it may be worth it if something goes wrong with a LNB.

this is an excellent reason to have the PP. and if you're not tech savvy or you just don't want to deal with anything at all you should have the PP.

 

[bobvick]

this is an excellent reason to have the PP. and if you're not tech savvy or you just don't want to deal with anything at all you should have the PP.

That is a good reason to have the plan, some folks may not know the first thing about how their satellite system works, and I am sure that very few of DirecTV's 17,000,000 even care.
I have been around satellite since the 80's with C-Band and got DBS in 2001 when my 4DTV went haywire , but it is nice to know if I do not want to go and try and figure if the problem is cabling, grounding, at the receiver or at the dish that I do not have to if I do not want to. The main reason that I decided to renew the plan was so that I could basically "extend" the warranty on my HR21P, I don't want to have to shell out the money for another one of those.

 

[Rey]

That is a good reason to have the plan, some folks may not know the first thing about how their satellite system works, and I am sure that very few of DirecTV's 17,000,000 even care.
I have been around satellite since the 80's with C-Band and got DBS in 2001 when my 4DTV went haywire , but it is nice to know if I do not want to go and try and figure if the problem is cabling, grounding, at the receiver or at the dish that I do not have to if I do not want to. The main reason that I decided to renew the plan was so that I could basically "extend" the warranty on my HR21P, I don't want to have to shell out the money for another one of those.

agreed :up

 

[Sancho]

Like one other poster said, I think it depends on your situation.

I live in an apartment, so my install is a pole-mounted dish (anchored to a wall with braces) and an 8 foot cable run, so problems are minimal and easy to trouble shoot. I don't really have a need for the PP because D is on the hook for any equipment defects that might pop up (less the cost of shipping). I think if I had a house or a more difficult install I would have the plan, but with my current situation I think it would be throwing $ out the window.

 

[Blueridge66]

Be curious if anyone has ever found an "official" D**** link describing just what the PP covers? Only thing I've found is in the faq's stating the receiver is covered, free of charge, if it has a problem.
I don't have the PP but don't fault those who do. It boils down to what's your comfort level in fixing a problem vs is the cost worth it to you to pick up the phone?

 

[mecro]

http://www.directv.com/learn/pdf/DirecTV_service_contract_v4.pdf

There's the link for the full terms and conditions of it!!

I'm a believer. Sure, its 6 bucks a month, but its easier to budget that than to budget new wiring/service call/lnb if something goes wrong.

Just last week, I called to use it for the first time in a while, and they had a tech out the next day to repeak my dish. Guy showed up, looked at my signal strengths, climbed the ladder, and was done in five minutes. Its just a no-hassle way to take care of any problems that may crop up. Normally I'd climb the ladder and fix it myself too, but a) i'm afraid of the 5 lnb dish and trying to point it, and b) i'm lazy...Spend the cost of a cheeseburger and have a tech come out and do the dirty work!

 

[Undertaker]

I've had it since the beginning. Used it to replace receivers as well as remote controls. Worth the money for me.

 

[PMKS]

I think it's worth it,

I've been a DirecTV sub since the early 90's, and have had the protection plan for the past several years.

So far I've gotten 2 regular IRD's replaced with new models, wiring fixed/replaced where another installer put a staple through the cable, a new 5 LNB dish, and a mpeg-2 DTC210 replaced with a mpeg-4 H23-600.