# Does Tivo accept Paypal or Gift card/Prepaid Visa in 2011?



## cowboys2011 (May 3, 2011)

I saw in the Tivo FAQ that they accept prepaid Visa/Mastercard's that have the billing address attached.. but most gift cards no longer let you register your full address. (For example, Netflix does not accept Vanilla Visa anymore because Vanilla Visa only lets you register your zip code, NOT address. Same with Hulu Plus.. many popular prepaid Visa or Mastercards are no longer accepted.).

Does Tivo currently accept prepaid gift cards with the Visa or Mastercard logo? If so, which brands will they accept? (See above: Vanilla Visa, and others, no longer work for many online purchases because they don't let you register your billing zip code.)

Does Tivo accept Paypal?

I do NOT have a debit or credit card, and would not get one just for Tivo.

I use Paypal or checks or cash or prepaid gift cards.

Am I out of luck in purchasing a Tivo subscription?


----------



## Chris Gerhard (Apr 27, 2002)

I don't know the answer to the question but would suggest you consider a PayPal debit card, it is a great way to solve the problem and get funds from PayPal to services or businesses that don't accept PayPal. It also pays 1% of monthly purchases. There is no need to have your PayPal account associated with your main bank account either.


----------



## socrplyr (Jul 19, 2006)

I have no idea if this would work, but you might be able to call them up and pay via check... (I wouldn't want to pay monthly this way, so you would need to buy a non-subsidized box directly from Tivo presumably.) Another option is to just purchase a box with lifetime off of ebay... (not that I like that option myself)
Good luck.


----------



## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

cowboys2011 said:


> I saw in the Tivo FAQ that they accept prepaid Visa/Mastercard's that have the billing address attached.. but most gift cards no longer let you register your full address. (For example, Netflix does not accept Vanilla Visa anymore because Vanilla Visa only lets you register your zip code, NOT address. Same with Hulu Plus.. many popular prepaid Visa or Mastercards are no longer accepted.).
> 
> Does Tivo currently accept prepaid gift cards with the Visa or Mastercard logo? If so, which brands will they accept? (See above: Vanilla Visa, and others, no longer work for many online purchases because they don't let you register your billing zip code.)
> 
> ...


Apparently you already have a checking account. I don't know about your bank, but my credit union issued me a VISA branded debit card that doesn't cost me anything extra. (VISA and probably the credit union get a cut out of what I pay the merchant, which means his/her cash customers help subsidize it, but then they help subsidize people who write checks and the extra expense that costs the merchant, and of course they cause the merchant the expense of handling cash) The debit card takes money out of my checking account only, and since it's not a credit card it doesn't let me spend money I don't have, and in addition to using that to give Tivo a number that lets them get the monthly from me automatically, I can use it for online purchases, and around town I can carry less cash and use it instead of having to write a check and show ID.

Your bank may even offer something which is a combination of a debit card and a bank-issued ID card, which might come in handy down the road, if for no other reason than to show to someone to whom you're writing a check.

By the way, if you're in a position to dump your bank and open a credit union account instead, you should seriously look into it. It's nice to have your money on deposit somewhere that isn't trying to nickel and dime you out of all of it before you get to spend it on yourself.


----------



## cowboys2011 (May 3, 2011)

Thanks.

I went ahead and tried a prepaid/gift card on Tivo. No go. They deny it, even though it was money available. Kind of disappointing. 

My bank offers debit cards, but I just don't want one. It's way too easy to overdraft, and way to easy to worry about who all has the number for automatic payments. I only use my checking account for living expenses with companies I trust, and everything else I pay cash. 

I'll have to look into a Paypal debit card. Does Tivo actually accept it?
It really gets old having companies not accept prepaid cards, but I refuse to cave and get credit or debit, so I guess I'll have to stick with companies that accept Paypal or cash or check, unless the Paypal debit card works with them.


----------



## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

cowboys2011 said:


> Thanks.
> 
> I went ahead and tried a prepaid/gift card on Tivo. No go. They deny it, even though it was money available. Kind of disappointing.
> 
> ...


If you can avoid writing rubber checks, you can avoid overdrafting a debit card.


----------



## cowboys2011 (May 3, 2011)

unitron said:


> If you can avoid writing rubber checks, you can avoid overdrafting a debit card.


True, but I still don't like debit cards.

With checks or cash or Paypal (I deposit cash into it), I authorize transactions as they happen. I don't like automatic payments, or the security concerns with debit cards.

Guess Tivo isn't for me. Shame they don't accept Paypal.


----------



## bschuler2007 (Feb 25, 2007)

I think your fear of "automatic payments" is directly opposite of Tivo's fear of "getting ripped off"... thus the impass. You could always buy a lifetime unit.

And as you figured out.. yeah.. if you don't like monthly payments, Tivo generally is not for you.


----------



## cowboys2011 (May 3, 2011)

Maybe I should have gotten a lifetime unit.

If Tivo bills monthly, they would know instantly if a prepaid Visa/Mastercard was good and could instantly stop service if it wasn't. I don't see why they won't accept them.

I don't mind paying the monthly fee, but won't give an entertainment company access to my checking account with a debit card (that I don't have). If Tivo accepted Paypal, I'd do it. Maybe I'll just Freevo or MythTV.


----------



## bschuler2007 (Feb 25, 2007)

You should be able to add lifetime to any existing unit.

As for cancelling it if you didn't have the funds, etc.. Yeah.. and they could also hand write you a letter and visit your house if you have any questions.. but it comes down to the amount of resources required. Few companies want to spend the resources on keeping track of customers who use easily faked/cancelled/walk-awayable means of funding. Tivo isn't the only one who won't accept checks, prepaid cards, etc.. Most, if not all, subscription services have the same requirements.


----------



## JimboG (May 27, 2007)

cowboys2011 said:


> Maybe I should have gotten a lifetime unit.
> 
> If Tivo bills monthly, they would know instantly if a prepaid Visa/Mastercard was good and could instantly stop service if it wasn't. I don't see why they won't accept them.


TiVo doesn't want to stop the service instantly at month three. TiVo sells their hardware at a loss and needs you to complete your contractually obligated number of monthly service payments if they are to turn a profit.

As bschuler2007 mentioned, TiVo doesn't want to get ripped off.

As to the other issue, how can one handle a checking account but not be able to handle a debit card?


----------



## cowboys2011 (May 3, 2011)

I paid full price for a (used) Tivo unit. No subsidies here.

Guess I answered my own question here: No, Tivo does not accept gift cards, Paypal, prepaid cards, or checking accounts. Done. 

For anyone else seeking companies that do accept Paypal or gift cards, Netflix accepts Paypal, and Blockbuster accepts gift cards (with a certain amount of value). So does Hulu (with verifiable billing address).


----------



## JimboG (May 27, 2007)

cowboys2011 said:


> For anyone else seeking companies that do accept Paypal or gift cards, Netflix accepts Paypal, and Blockbuster accepts gift cards (with a certain amount of value). So does Hulu (with verifiable billing address).


Netflix, Blockbuster, and Hulu don't sell subsidized hardware.

TiVo sells their Premiere DVR at a loss even at the $299 price, much less with the $99 or zero dollar down, $19.99 per month plans.


----------



## Worf (Sep 15, 2000)

The easiest way is to go to eBay, and pick up a used TiVo with Lifetime. Get the TSN from the seller and call TiVo to see if it really has lifetime.

Then you'll have a TiVo with *no* monthly charges, and probably side-stepping this whole issue.


----------



## classicsat (Feb 18, 2004)

I am going to say, when I has a paid subscription TiVo, I used a pre-paid Mastercard. mind you it had my address tied to it. It loaded the same as Pay-Pal; send a payment from my bank account.


----------



## cowboys2011 (May 3, 2011)

JimboG said:


> Netflix, Blockbuster, and Hulu don't sell subsidized hardware.
> 
> TiVo sells their Premiere DVR at a loss even at the $299 price, much less with the $99 or zero dollar down, $19.99 per month plans.


My box wasn't subsidized.

For subsidized boxes... And if Tivo needs to protect themselves from contract-breakers, debit and credit cards can be cancelled (or naturally expire) very easily. Do they send off those contract breakers to collections? Why not have Tivo ask for bank account numbers that rarely change?


----------



## cowboys2011 (May 3, 2011)

classicsat said:


> I am going to say, when I has a paid subscription TiVo, I used a pre-paid Mastercard. mind you it had my address tied to it. It loaded the same as Pay-Pal; send a payment from my bank account.


Thanks, that's helpful.

Can I ask which brand of Mastercard it was?


----------



## cowboys2011 (May 3, 2011)

Worf said:


> The easiest way is to go to eBay, and pick up a used TiVo with Lifetime. Get the TSN from the seller and call TiVo to see if it really has lifetime.
> 
> Then you'll have a TiVo with *no* monthly charges, and probably side-stepping this whole issue.


I've been looking at lifetime units..

But other forums have lead me to believe that even a lifetime subscription requires a credit card. I don't want to risk being out more money on unsubsidized boxes. Have you, or do you know, anyone who has a lifetime subscription without having to activate/add a credit card to the account?


----------



## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

cowboys2011 said:


> I've been looking at lifetime units..
> 
> But other forums have lead me to believe that even a lifetime subscription requires a credit card. I don't want to risk being out more money on unsubsidized boxes. Have you, or do you know, anyone who has a lifetime subscription without having to activate/add a credit card to the account?


If you buy a used unit with lifetime already on it, you can transfer it to your name without giving them any financial info.


----------



## P42 (Jan 7, 2003)

cowboys2011 said:


> Have you, or do you know, anyone who has a lifetime subscription without having to activate/add a credit card to the account?


Me. TiVo know my email, phone number, mailing address, and name, but no CC or bank info.


----------



## cowboys2011 (May 3, 2011)

I called Tivo last week.

They said that a Tivo Lifetime box* requires* a credit card to register the new owner.

I don't see why they do require a credit/debit card for a Lifetime box that was already paid for.

Their excuse? To verify that the Tivo was rightfully purchased. Wouldn't my proof of purchase (say, a receipt and permission from the previous owner) be enough to verify my identity? Wouldn't proof of purchase and the previous owners permission be a far more legitimate way to verify ownership? I fail to see how a credit card on file verifies WHO I purchased the Tivo Lifetime box from. Oh, right, it doesn't. My proof of purchase and having the previous owner's written permission (and their receipt from the purchase of the Tivo box and Lifetime service) should be more than sufficient.

Lame, Tivo. Lame.


----------



## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

cowboys2011 said:


> I called Tivo last week.
> 
> They said that a Tivo Lifetime box* requires* a credit card to register the new owner.
> 
> ...


TiVo had a more complicate problem with credit cards, I may have been the one who started this because i sold a Lifetime TiVo-HD on E_Bay, xfered the ownership and unknown to me also xfered my credit card that was on that TiVo to the new owner, something (from TiVo) was later charged to that credit card, I called TiVo and they admitted after looking to matter that my Credit card (only the last 4 digits would be shown) was also xfered. That was not a good situation (TiVo gave me credit quickly no problem) but they said it was bad news that any credit card would xfer to another persons account and would do something about it, so I guess they did.


----------



## cowboys2011 (May 3, 2011)

lessd said:


> TiVo had a more complicate problem with credit cards, I may have been the one who started this because i sold a Lifetime TiVo-HD on E_Bay, xfered the ownership and unknown to me also xfered my credit card that was on that TiVo to the new owner, something (from TiVo) was later charged to that credit card, I called TiVo and they admitted after looking to matter that my Credit card (only the last 4 digits would be shown) was also xfered. That was not a good situation (TiVo gave me credit quickly no problem) but they said it was bad news that any credit card would xfer to another persons account and would do something about it, so I guess they did.


Yikes.

I don't understand why they even keep credit card info on file when a Lifetime Subscription is purchased?

Since you purchased the Lifetime subscription, couldn't/shouldn't they have removed your billing info altogether so further purchases wouldn't be made or your data compromised?


----------



## Krandor (Jun 10, 2004)

cowboys2011 said:


> Maybe I should have gotten a lifetime unit.
> 
> If Tivo bills monthly, they would know instantly if a prepaid Visa/Mastercard was good and could instantly stop service if it wasn't. I don't see why they won't accept them.


Probably one of two reasons.

1) The percentage of people who have used those services and then TiVo had to deal with trying to bill a card with no money on it was very high so made the decision it isn't worth it.
2) Their billing processsor charges a higher fee for processing those types of cards due to a greater chance of issues (would be related to 1 but from the processor side). Since there s a higher fee for TiVo they decided it wasn't worth the fee.

It really most likely is the second one. Billing Processors are always concerned about processing cards when the card is not physically present so they really like online merchants to also verify CVS code, zip code, adddress, etc. before processing an online transaction. So most likely TiVo has a deal with their processor to verify certain things on all transactions in exchange for a lower processing fee.

Pre-paid cards are nice for one-time transactions, but I would also be wary of taking them for a recurring monthly transaction especially if there was a contract involved (like with TiVo). The cost of dealing with people who forgot to put more money on their pre-paid card each month would likely outweigh the value of having them as customers.


----------



## Krandor (Jun 10, 2004)

cowboys2011 said:


> My box wasn't subsidized.
> 
> For subsidized boxes... And if Tivo needs to protect themselves from contract-breakers, debit and credit cards can be cancelled (or naturally expire) very easily. Do they send off those contract breakers to collections? Why not have Tivo ask for bank account numbers that rarely change?


Even an unsubsidized box when activited requires a one year committment. I don't like the fact that TiVO does this, but they do. So as soon as you activate you are committing to pay TiVo for one year so they need to make sure that they have appropriate payment method on file they can bill for that whole year.


----------



## aadam101 (Jul 15, 2002)

cowboys2011 said:


> I saw in the Tivo FAQ that they accept prepaid Visa/Mastercard's that have the billing address attached.. but most gift cards no longer let you register your full address. (For example, Netflix does not accept Vanilla Visa anymore because Vanilla Visa only lets you register your zip code, NOT address. Same with Hulu Plus.. many popular prepaid Visa or Mastercards are no longer accepted.).
> 
> Does Tivo currently accept prepaid gift cards with the Visa or Mastercard logo? If so, which brands will they accept? (See above: Vanilla Visa, and others, no longer work for many online purchases because they don't let you register your billing zip code.)
> 
> ...


I believe Green Dot prepaid cards require your full address. You can buy them at CVS.


----------



## TheWGP (Oct 26, 2007)

Krandor said:


> Even an unsubsidized box when activited requires a one year committment. I don't like the fact that TiVO does this, but they do. So as soon as you activate you are committing to pay TiVo for one year so they need to make sure that they have appropriate payment method on file they can bill for that whole year.


Not true - Tivo now offers a no-commitment purchase option. Only available via phone support, and god knows what ripoff price they'll charge (certainly at least $299 PLUS whatever month-to-month or lifetime sub), but it is available.

I guess it does concern me a little to think that Tivo may have saved my credit card info... all my Tivos have lifetime and I have no plans to ever have Tivo bill me *anything* so there's really no reason for it.

OP: You really should consider just getting a Paypal debit card - you could use it for this one thing and then cancel the card, but you may find it's useful in other areas since it's directly linked to your Paypal account.


----------



## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

cowboys2011 said:


> Yikes.
> 
> I don't understand why they even keep credit card info on file when a Lifetime Subscription is purchased?
> 
> Since you purchased the Lifetime subscription, couldn't/shouldn't they have removed your billing info altogether so further purchases wouldn't be made or your data compromised?


It turns out that even if you xfer a prepaid (say having 3 more months left) TiVo you also get the sellers Credit Card, every TiVo that is active, lifetime prepaid or monthly, has/had a credit card attached to itself, and that credit card went with the TiVo. It was TiVos system at the time, I now hope they have changed it, the CSR supervisor was shocked when he looked into it for me, and said that has to change, so i think it may have, but i have not xfered any TiVos in the last 6 months. A non active TiVo will not have any credit card attached to it, even if it was once active. Only the owner can change the credit card, but TiVo will not let you change the card to blank even on a Lifetime Service TiVo, it must be an active credit card, so you can't change the credit before you move the TiVo unless the buyer gave you his card, fat chance of that.


----------



## djdanska (Sep 30, 2004)

Tivo has no problem taking out the monthly charge out of my netspend prepaid mastercard. I can also use it on hulu. Not on netflix though. I have to use the green dot/walmart money card for that one. Always a way around it.


----------



## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

djdanska said:


> Tivo has no problem taking out the monthly charge out of my netspend prepaid mastercard. I can also use it on hulu. Not on netflix though. I have to use the green dot/walmart money card for that one. Always a way around it.


I don't know if TiVos automatic credit system can tell the difference between a Prepaid card with money available or a credit card, or for that matter a debit card. I have never seen TiVos credit card policies. The TiVos system never asked for the 3 to 4 digit card code as many vendors do.


----------



## shwru980r (Jun 22, 2008)

You could buy a lifetime Tivo from ebay and finance it through paypal. Then you could make monthly payments with paypal. You would have to see what your monthly payments would be, but I suspect you could probably make the same monthly payment and eventually pay off the Tivo.


----------



## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

shwru980r said:


> You could buy a lifetime Tivo from ebay and finance it through paypal. Then you could make monthly payments with paypal. You would have to see what your monthly payments would be, but I suspect you could probably make the same monthly payment and eventually pay off the Tivo.


My point exactly, even at 22% it would a better deal.


----------



## shwru980r (Jun 22, 2008)

lessd said:


> My point exactly, even at 22% it would a better deal.


Maybe Tivo should start financing lifetime subscriptions.


----------



## TheWGP (Oct 26, 2007)

shwru980r said:


> Maybe Tivo should start financing lifetime subscriptions.


LOL, yeah, Tivo cares so much about their customers they want to lend them money. That way they can do fun things like send them to debt collectors and/or file small claims court actions to recover their $399 with a $399 collections fee plus interest on both!

Then again... maybe we shouldn't give Tivo any new business ideas. They're already learning from the cable companies and patent trolls - what next, summary cancellation if a phone CSR gets mad at you? Flogging and the rack for uncooperative customers?

 
(For the humor impaired, the above is firmly tongue in cheek)


----------



## aadam101 (Jul 15, 2002)

lessd said:


> but TiVo will not let you change the card to blank even on a Lifetime Service TiVo,


That's just crazy. You would think with all of the hacking going on Tivo would want to store as little customer info as possible.


----------



## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

aadam101 said:


> That's just crazy. You would think with all of the hacking going on Tivo would want to store as little customer info as possible.


I think they use the same system for monthly and pre-pay as Lifetime Service, so the system does store your credit card, as time goes by the card will go out of date or is canceled (by you) so within a few years the card will no longer work and for Lifetime Service TiVos they (TiVo) do not make you or ask you update the old credit card. I had to change my AX card number a few month ago as somebody was trying to find out my credit line from CA and I am in CT (not because of a TiVo problem I hope) so all my TiVo credit cards on file from the past are now N/G.


----------

