Protection Plan

[KoolBreeze]

I'm a new subscriber to DirecTV and just noticed that I've signed up for the "Protection Plan" @ $6 per month. The funny thing is that I don't recall signing up for a protection plan. I looked it up on their website after receiving a mailout from them, but I'm still don't clearly understand it's purpose. I mean, I don't own the equipment they provided me (Genie, 3 C31s, an H25, dish and splitter), correct? If I don't, then it seems to me that if something goes wrong with it through no fault of mine, then they should provide replacements at no cost to me regardless of any protection plan, since it's their equipment. Am I wrong in that thinking? That's how it worked with cable anyway.

Anyway, I cancelled the protection plan that I never signed up for. I'm not concerned about service calls, but what happens if a receiver goes out and I don't have the plan?

 

[raoul5788]

Without the protection plan, they will replace a defective receiver/dvr with you paying the shipping of $19.95. Sometimes they will waive that fee. With the plan, shipping is paid for. I think it also covers other equipment failures and dish realignments.

 

[KoolBreeze]

Ok, thanks. That's fair enough.

 

[Claude Greiner]

Intresting, as they just started paying us sales people a commission for selling it last week.

 

[WTguy]

I believe if you order online, it is defaulted as a sign up, so you have to unclick the box if you don't want it.

 

[goatdwarf]

yea without the protection plan if a receiver or client goes bad, you are responsible for the 19.95 shipping and handling fee through fed ex. with the protection plan, it covers the cost of shipping and handling, plus any time a tech has to come out due to dish realignments or anything else and completely covered (unless truly customer caused) also free remote control and access card replacements if they go bad

 

[whitewolf8214]

To me the Protection is worth it

 

[ClemSole]

the protection plan is a waste of money. we have been with DTV from the early 90's and never paid for any repairs other than 19.95 shipping to replace a bad recever. $60.00 a year for the protection plan adds up, 10 years=$600.00 dollars.

 

[bryan_j_t]

I just canceled mine last week. Barely used it over the past 3 years, If I have something go wrong I'll add it back on before reporting the issue

 

[JonBlack]

I don't know if D* is the same way as E* on this issue or not. With E* if you had an issue they'd willing sign you up for the protection plan in order for you to get reduced/waived shipping/repair costs. Of course, people would cancel the protection plan ASAP once they got their equipment issue straightened. It wasn't too long that E* set a policy that required you to have the protection plan for so long before you could cancel. The numbers would still work out in your favor if you cancelled it at the right time. I'm sure they banked on you forgetting about it, etc. Still, it helped me from time to time, considering how many DVRs and malfunctioning LNBs we went through over 8 years.

 

[qcjoe]

I ordered online and it was there after the first month. I called and a csr told me it was free for the first month.

 

[goatdwarf]

it always is free for the first month, and if you cancel it within the first year there is a 10 dollar cancellation fee, ive also seen cases where customers have cancelled within 90 days of the service call and still get charged the early cancel fee, plus the 49.95 for the service call.

 

[skysurfer]

I really don't get this protection plan BS. If I'm leasing the equipment (not owning it) why isn't it DIRECTV's responsibility to provide a free service call and free hardware to fix dead DVR's, bad LNBs, bad cabling, problems due to poor installation, etc. if it's not my fault there has been a failure?

Makes me want to contact my state rep and try to get introduced and passed a consumer protection law in my state that if someone is a subscriber to a service and equipment/infrastructure that is leased fails, it's up to the service provider to pay for service calls and hardware to fix the issue unless it was something caused by the subscriber that caused the failure.

 

[raoul5788]

If you lease a car, do they cover everything that might go wrong with it? Some companies do, most don't. Do they pay for your gas to take the car to the dealer? Nope! That's pretty much like asking Directv to pay the shipping on one of their leased units.

 

[cappy29]

it always is free for the first month, and if you cancel it within the first year there is a 10 dollar cancellation fee, ive also seen cases where customers have cancelled within 90 days of the service call and still get charged the early cancel fee, plus the 49.95 for the service call.

So I take it that if you keep it for a year and then cancel there is no $10 cancellation fee?

 

[Joe The Dragon]

If you lease a car, do they cover everything that might go wrong with it? Some companies do, most don't. Do they pay for your gas to take the car to the dealer? Nope! That's pretty much like asking Directv to pay the shipping on one of their leased units.

well you can buy a car and not be forced to pay a mirroring or outlet fee that costs the same as the lease fee.

 

[raoul5788]

well you can buy a car and not be forced to pay a mirroring or outlet fee that costs the same as the lease fee.

That makes no sense to me at all.

 

[Hutch1814]

well you can buy a car and not be forced to pay a mirroring or outlet fee that costs the same as the lease fee.

Wait...what!?

 

[goatdwarf]

that would be correct