Voom should enable OTA permanently!

[Sat Junkie]

IMHO the Voom boxes are going to be like a Primestar stb except that you would be able to receive local ota signals with no guide. Cablevision wants to rid itself of all their last vestiges of Voom and picking up a warehouse full of useless boxes probably would cost an extra half million dollars even if they only paid Installs Inc. a measly $10 per visit. At that price I don't see anyone bothering to knock on my door.

 

[Mindstorm]

I wonder if you will find installers that are willing to come by and pick up the boxes since they won't be paid. Installers won't be paid after today. At least that's what I was told.

I wonder if it's just the boxes and remotes....or do they want all the cables as well? I doubt it (having the extra DVI cables is nice for my PCs)...I guess we'll know in a few weeks.

As for the installers, maybe one could chime in here, perhaps they have to pay some "security deposit" to voom to become an installer and won't get it back if they don't return the boxes they installed. Then again, it may be risky on their part to assume that there is any money to get back if it wasn'y escrowed properly. Add to that the time and the number of "recovery" operations, it may not be worth the installers deposit (if they even had to pay one....I don't know that they did, just throwing something out there that may explain why installers will come get the boxes if they aren't getting paid)

 

[bryan27]

I don't think the boxes are entirely useless. The boxes can be refurbished and another logo placed on it and software can be sucked out of them and replaced with new software. It is possible to resell these STBs to Star Choice as refurbished units. Star Choice could buy them and have a limited time offer to buy a 2nd receiver at a drastically reduced price.

 

[Indy]

The boxes will be worthless to us. I think the way Voom would go is send us a pre paid shipping box with instructions on how to unhook the STB and pack it up. Comply with the request or your credit card on file gets a $700 charge for not returning the equipment. I realize some are on a monthly "pay Voom bill by check status", but not many.

 

[Indy]

Time to send out the sniper teams to wing em' before they have a chance to finish!

 

[TYORK]

we have told that we would be giving info in the next few days where to ship all equipment that we have back so we will see what they are going to do.

t

 

[smeagal]

I gaurantee they will not send out people to collect 40 k plus ird's that would make no sense at all !

 

[SKrueger]

Comply with the request or your credit card on file gets a $700 charge for not returning the equipment. I realize some are on a monthly "pay Voom bill by check status", but not many.

Even those on a pay by check status could be sent a bill and turned over to collection if they don't pay.

Anyone got info and how to power the OTA antenna if Voom takes the boxes?

 

[bryan27]

Comply with the request or your credit card on file gets a $700 charge for not returning the equipment. I realize some are on a monthly "pay Voom bill by check status", but not many.

Interesting. My credit card on file is expired, they don't have my checking account number, and the credit card I have used to pay the last two months with was indicated as a "cash" payment. Guess if I wanted to keep the receiver there would be no way for them to extract a payment from me

 

[rang1995]

it would be nice--It's the least they OWE us..and they DO owe us for 2 years of agrivation!!!!!!

 

[Lobstah]

Ok...first of all, what little info there is here seems to have been presented by a CSR. Now no offense, BUT...we all know that the information that they are given is sometimes...errrrrr....less than accurate?

So before anyone gets all twisted up...let's just wait for real information.
There are some other things that were mentioned that I don't think makes any sense, but that's just my opinion.

As for installers coming to pick up the boxes, I'm sure that would be under a different contract. Might not even be a sat-installer contract at all.
Are the boxes worthless? Probably not, but what's it going to cost to pickup/reload/repaint/repack/restock? A bunch...

As for me packing my boxes up?...Sorry...they don't have a credit card, and I'm NOT QUALIFIED to handle their boxes/equipment, and I won't accept the responsibility. It was complex enough that it HAD to be installed by an "authorized professional"...so it needs to be de-installed by an agent of VOOM's choosing. I don't want the responsibility, thank you very much
And...if the boxes go? The dish is going to, and YES...I wan't my roof patched.

Lob

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

My concern is if they want the boxes back, that they are going to send people over to get it and do a poor job of removing the dish and the rest of the voom stuff.

I am scared for the fact that the people removing stuff won't care about anything and just rush to get the jobs done.

 

[rtt2]

When DirecTV DSL was shutdown (I know its wierd but at one point DirecTV was a DSL provider). However when they were shutdown they just let subscribers keep the modems.

Before the shutdown occured DirecTV valued them at $400 and required you to return them. However after the shutdown occured DirecTV just did not care about the modems and just let people keep them. You can still find people on broadbandreports.com trying to hack them many years after the shutdown.

 

[bryan27]

Lobstah,

You bring up something interesting. If VOOM wants customers to box up and ship the receivers then in order for me to comply they must pay my standard $500 removal fee in addition proper payments for injury, death, dismemberment, and damage insurance must also be applied. What if I slip a disk or am electocuted while removing the receiver? I could be in a fatal car accident on the way to the post office to ship the equipment.

No payment = Collection Agency + County Court

 

[cidbozek]

i agree, im not boxing anything up, if i wasnt qualified enough to unpack my 3rd box that i had to pay an installer 49.00 to drop off!!! than im not qualified to repack it and drive it to the post office. and as far as them picking them up, i will only give them the boxes after i have carefully checked my roof to make sure everything is done properly and to my satifaction! so the balls in there court on this one !!!

 

[Dvlos]

If Voom/Rainbow/Cablevision doesn't even want to keep Voom going for another month, what makes you think they want to invest time and money to get back boxes that will earn them nothing selling them to Star Choice?

I just hope Charles appreciates us Visionaries that subscribed and stayed with Voom and he just pulls the plug. OTA HD tuners aren't that cheap, its the least we could have. If not, I'll find someone to "fix" the box so it picks up OTA.

 

[VewDew]

My concern is if they want the boxes back, that they are going to send people over to get it and do a poor job of removing the dish and the rest of the voom stuff.

I am scared for the fact that the people removing stuff won't care about anything and just rush to get the jobs done.

I am curious about what is going to happen to those of us that purchased the receiver. I am keeping it of course (although I don't know what I will do with it) but are they going to want the dish back?

 

[Aldous]

I asked a question in another thread that seems to have been deleted or moved that relates to that question. I have kept my Dish account just in case something bad happened with Voom and now I will probably add the HD content they have. I know it could never compare to the great HD that Voom delivers, but I can't imagine going from that to all SD. So the question is this: Does Dish require a second dish to receive thier HD content, and if so, could I use the Voom dish if they don't collect it? I know how horrible it sounds to use a Voom dish to get Dish's quasi-HD, but it is the least of the horrible outcomes available to me.

 

[rang1995]

I will not go behind my wall unit and risk having "other wires" get disconnected..this would be a final slap in our faces if they Made us return the units..i will get to it when i choose something else to replace voom and lets see how fast they are on credits for an UNUSED portion of a month

 

[T2k]

First and foremost: they CANNOT CHRAGE A CENT, even if you won't send it back. You never ever signed any paper about this possible charge, so we can close out this option. All they can ask is access to their properties, the STBs and take it by sending over somebody to do so.

If they'd charge one cent for anybody, they'd get sued their @ss off - I smell class-action smoke here...